A Brown Note is a sensory input that is inherently harmful. Exactly how it works is left up to the imagination of the writer. In older works, especially the classic myths that codified the trope, this was almost always supernatural, typically a curse or strange spell. More modern or "grounded" works will try to pass it off as [[YourMindMakesItReal psychological]].

Named for the urban legend about an audio tone that, when played, causes the listener to [[BringMyBrownPants lose control of their bowels and spontaneously defecate]].

Usually, [[TakeOurWordForIt we don't get to see or hear it ourselves]], for obvious reasons.

See also BlackSpeech for inherently evil languages, which may overlap with this for people who aren't evil enough. A common trait of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, due to how mind-breakingly alien they are. The nastiest forms of this also force their victims to propagate them, overlapping with MindVirus. Not to be confused with the real-life [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownian_noise "Brown noise"]], which is completely harmless and sounds a bit like a poorly maintained air conditioner.

----!!Examples:

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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]* The ''Anime/ReadOrDie'' {{OVA}} revolves around a symphony that causes anyone who listens to it to become suicidally depressed. The villains' plan is to broadcast it around the world and [[TheSocialDarwinist wipe out the weak-minded]]. To spare the viewers such a fate, Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" is played.** The manga also contains a scene where two captives are tortured with the audio version of ''The Dark Abyss'', a book bound in human flesh and printed by five different people, one page at a time, so they wouldn't succumb to it. The pair withstood the audiobook for some 4 minutes before caving.* An interesting plot from ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' (the episode "escape from"); a cybernetic puzzle box is discovered that traps the mind of anyone who cybernetically links to it. The intruder is placed in a virtual environment of an old fashioned theater, along with the trapped minds of those that came before. Playing is a certain obscure director's last {{film}}, which he never shot, which contains images so profoundly emotional, that intruders never want to leave, only remain and watch the film. Notoriously unemotional Major Kusanagi is trapped by the device, and at the climax of the film, she actually ''cries''. As for what the image was, the show viewer can't see it, but TakeOurWordForIt. The device turns out to be the director's own brain, encased in the GITS universe's cybernetic equivalent to a drive enclosure for gray matter. The interesting part was that the director had no evil ulterior motive or anything...the movie was just ''that good'' that anyone who watched it would want to keep watching it forever; the perfect movie. Motoko ultimately tells him that she admits it's very good, but even the best of TV and film is no substitute for RealLife.** This incidentally may be a subtle demonstration of psychic powers at play, since the idea of a brain-case abducting Ghosts of other people contradicts the internal logic of the series at many levels.** This also turned out to be how the terrorist group The Individual Eleven recruited in ''2nd Gig''. [[spoiler: A series of documents that contain the group's manifesto are scattered across the Net. If a person of suitable personality and physical qualifications reads all eleven in order, a cybernetic meme is unleashed that turns them into a fanatical soldier for the Eleven.]] People who don't fit in the mold demonstrate different kinds of personality shifts, like the reporter who became obsessed with the refugee issue, but never acted on his own right, until the virus drove him to commit suicide, or the old professor, who simply took interest in the literary value of the [[spoiler:imaginary]] manuscript, without getting a single radical idea out of it.* The Chapter Black tape from ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' reportedly contains hours upon hours of [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters humanity's worst deeds]], and just watching it for five minutes can turn anyone into a StrawNihilist as their respect for humanity drops to rock bottom. It's mentioned that the tape is part of a set with Chapter White, which contains all the greatest acts of human kindness and compassion. Koenma even says Chapter Black is a "One sided argument", and both tapes are apparently about the same length. In fact, neither one is really meant to be watched without the viewer watching the other one ''simultaneously''.* Kyon and Haruhi of ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' uploaded a symbol made by Haruhi onto their website... which just happened to magnify data in such a way to bring into our reality a long-dormant "digital cave cricket" that infects the minds of those who looked at the image file. He disarms it by changing the "SOS" logo into a [[SdrawkcabName "ZOZ".]]** In the Drama CD, Haruhi creates the musical equivalent, which had to be defeated by ThePowerOfRock. At the end of the CD, while the EarWorm properties of the tune had been excised, Haruhi goes on to come up with the ''[[DancingTheme dance]]'' version of this. Kyon warns the audience to avert their eyes if they see it, even though he thinks it's already too late.* In ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'', the words "[[spoiler:Elda Taluta]]" and others bring to life parts of a person's psyche that are buried within; only a handful can hear these and not go insane. And god help you if you read the books that these words come from.* Played with in ''Manga/DetectiveSchoolQ''. The "Banquet of Evil" violin solo drives a violinist into increasing insanity as soon as he hears it, and it's mentioned that a mysterious person is forcing three other people to hear it as well through cellphone calls. The reason? [[spoiler: It was the favorite musical piece of a brilliant player who was incapacitated [[DrivenToSuicide and killed herself]]... after an horrible trap staged by the other four. Who end up murdered by the girl's fellow violinist and boyfriend. And had he not done it, they would've died at the hands of the girl's vengeful half-sister. ]]* Several episodes of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' featured a [[KidAppealCharacter Jigglypuff]] who didn't seem to know its own strength. Its singing would put anyone who heard it - human and Pokémon alike - to sleep, and with amplification equipment, once did so to a whole city. Every time this happened, it got upset because it thought no-one was listening to it, and marked up the sleepers' faces with a magic marker! * In ''Manga/TheKurosagiCorpseDeliveryService'', one story was about our FiveManBand investigating a certain railway crossing with an unusually high suicide rate. It seems to have to do with a suicide song played near the tracks, until they go there and discover that the music is an accidental combination of the railroad warning signal, the school chime and the tune played by the recycling truck, which makes people want to die.* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' briefly mentions the Sonata of Darkness, said to have been written by {{Satan}} himself and includes parts for different instruments. Just listening to a few notes of the flute solo was enough to horribly deform the Music Hunter Melody Senritsu ([[CursedWithAwesome it also gave her music based powers though]]). Her friend that actually ''played'' it died horribly.* In Creator/ShotaroIshinomori's manga, {{tokusatsu}} and anime series ''Series/{{Kikaider}}'', the BigBad Professor Gill has a flute that allows him to control his robotic creations. The flute affects Jiro/Kikaider as well: because of his [[PinocchioSyndrome incomplete conscience circuit]], the flute's sound causes him physical pain and also sends him into a {{brainwashed}} [[UnstoppableRage rage]]. Only after he [[HenshinHero transforms]] into his "Kikaider" form does the flute not affect him.* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', [[CursedWithAwesome although not really a bad thing]], Ed sees "the Truth" after attempting to perform a human transmutation on his mother at the very beginning of the series and, along with learning a good deal of alchemic knowledge, is able to perform alchemy without a circle, something only those who have also seen the "Truth" can do. [[spoiler:Al also ends up seeing the "Truth" later on and gains this ability as well.]]* ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'' has a primary plotline which revolves around this trope. [[spoiler:The "Level Upper" is a sound that connects the espers through a neural network simulating a very powerful supercomputer. The "Level Upper" has the positive side effect of temporarily increasing an esper's powers, but later causes them to universally lapse into a coma, and then go berserk when they awaken.]]** Similarly, Capacity Down is a sound that shuts down esper powers. Non-espers find the sound annoying but harmless, while espers can barely stand up straight when listening to it.** The second season of ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' has Index getting surrounded by armed nuns. She responds with a song that subconsciously exposes all the supposed contradictions of Christianity to every believer in range, instantly incapacitating all of her attackers, who writhe on the ground screaming in agony. The second wave responds by everyone taking out a pair of fountain pens and ''stabbing themselves in the ears to deafen themselves so that the song won't effect them''.* One episode of ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'' has TheManBehindTheMan of Galactor compose "Murder Music #1", a rock song that can drive people insane and shatter buildings when played from the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Mecha Of The Week]].* ''Manga/ViolinistOfHameln'' ''runs'' almost entirely on this trope, flavored with RuleOfCool, RefugeInAudacity and [[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs copious amounts of crack]]. But what else can you say for a series whose entire premise is that the heroes use magical music to beat evil up (and to beat each other up, they're rather dysfunctional)...?* Not a major plot element but once in a while there is mention of a whistle that is about the only thing to harm ''Manga/KamenNoMaidGuy'''s Kogarashi. (First and last episode, actually)** Kogarashi's MEIDO GUY FREEZE VOICE, which renders most people unable to move for 30 minutes.* Played for laughs on a national scale in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnri1Wp5sOc this clip]] from ''Manga/KujibikiUnbalance''.* [[spoiler: Hakko]] from ''Anime/{{Canaan}}'' has the ability to kill people with her voice, but whenever she speaks or sings it sounds perfectly normal. The audience only hears how she perceives her voice ''herself'', rather than the people affected by it.* ''[[VideoGame/HarukanaruTokiNoNakaDe Harukanaru Toki no Naka de - Hachiyou Shou]]'' at one point has the heroine put into a coma by the cursed kin; due to the extra string, the music produced by said instrument caused disorder in the souls of whoever heard it, killing them. Exorcising the ghost of the first victim who continued playing and causing deaths still required a specific person to play the kin and die in the process. [[spoiler:Eisen finds a way around it by playing the kin under water, reducing the sound to a non-lethal strength -- and he still gets injured by it.]]* The powerful human and crow {{tengu}} of ''JapanTenguPartyIllustrated'' have only one real weakness: [[spoiler: seeing a "real" tengu, a large seemingly flightless bird causes instant {{DePower}}ing. This is due to the tengu's view that they are unique supernatural beings, and discovering that their legend is based on a real animal completely shatters their powers.]]* In ''Anime/{{Naruto}}'', the character Tayuya has one of these: Her weapon of choice is a flute, with which she can control these three creepy puppet corpses. Specific notes cause them to move in certain ways, one in particular causes the corpses to emit chakra devouring soul.. mouth worm things. However, her real kicker comes in the form of a melody, which simply hearing causes the victim to fall into an illusion in which they appear to be strung up by wires as the skin melts off their bones.* In one chapter of ''Manga/SgtFrog'', Keroro manages to disable Natsumi by [[TakeOurWordForIt whispering something in her ear]]. Fuyuki later asks Natsumi what he said to her, but Natsumi only replies "[[MediumAwareness Do you want to get this book banned?]]"** Also, it's revealed Kururu can use his headphones to generate a sonic attack that broadcasts the target's least favorite sound (nails on a chalkboard, pieces of styrofoam being rubbed together, etc.) right into their brain.* The titular ''Anime/RahXephon'' and the D-1 [[GiantMecha Dolems]] that appear throughout the series can sing in such horrific ways that things around them explode, disintegrate, or cease to exist. It gets worse when they start doing harmonies or descants with more than one in the area.* Wunder X's music in ''Anime/WeissKreuz'' causes people to go insane and kill themselves.* The songs of the mermaids of ''Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'' are beautiful to listen to but hurt people with an evil heart to the point of death.* ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'': In episode 50, Sougo's pitch on how to improve the show comes as an extended guttural noise that drives everyone crazy.* Dimitri from ''Manga/KurobaraAlice'' is a tenor who acquires this power after being turned into a vampire. [[spoiler: He accidentally kills his own audience, to start]].* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', Crona wrote a poem that causes anyone who reads it to wish they'd never been born, or in the zombie's case to wish he'd never been brought back to life* In ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'', there is a sound that causes dormant stages of the Apocalypse Virus to grow ''rapidly'', crystallizing and killing the victim in less than five seconds. While Inori describes it as a song, it sounds like anything but.* In the second, anime-only season of ''Manga/BlackButler'', there is an episode where all the main characters attend a ball hosted by [[AxeCrazy Alois Trancy]]. At the party, one of Alois' demons [[spoiler: Hannah]] plays an instrument much like an armonica that possesses those who hear its song. Sebastian counteracts the music with an accompaniment on some water-filled wineglasses.* In ''Manga/FairyTail'', the Death Magic of the flute Lullaby kills any who hear its song.* In ''Literature/TheCaseFilesOfYakushijiRyoko'', the Ultrasonic Bug case involves an insect whose cry drives humans to suicide when heard through a cell phone. And they seem to be a natural Japanese species, not some genetically engineered weapon.* In ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'', one of Zebra's most dangerous and draining voice-based attacks has him modulating the frequency of his voice to ''instantly kill anyone who hears it.'' The art depicts this as a massive Grim Reaper like entity. Zebra himself claims, that he does that by mimicking sound of the Grim Reaper's footsteps.* ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'' A picture that Shiba Miki sends to Maou, Ashiya [[spoiler: and Lucifer]] of her in Hawaii dressed in a bikini, has the effect of placing anyone who sees it into a temporary GoMadFromTheRevelation moment. If you've seen her before, whatever you do...DON'T THINK ABOUT IT.* This is the entire plot point of the anime ''Anime/SuitePrettyCure''. There's a special song in Major Land called the "Melody of Happiness" that, when sung, brings great joy and bliss. But, when the notes are rearranged, it creates the Melody of Sorrow, which plunges everyone who listens to it into despair. Its our heroines' job to make sure the latter doesn't happen.* Naga's NoblewomansLaugh is the ultimate brown note in the ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' universe; heard from any distance it's been known to drive entire cities into raw panic, children crying, adults running, and little old ladies crouching at every shrine they can find begging to make it stop.* ''Manga/TheHatingGirl'' has a couple relating to the main female character, Asumi.** Asumi [[AnnoyingArrows has an arrow all the way through her head]], which causes grief for both her and others. At one point she accidentally runs the arrow's point along the windows of a school room, bringing everyone around her to their knees in the same manner as {{nails on a chalkboard}}.** Her friend Ryouji has a handful of things that cause him to panic, and bugs are one, specifically drone beetles. Thus, it's hard for him to hear Asumi yell out that she's lower than a drone beetle when she's apologizing.* Weather Report from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' has weather-controlling powers. After [[spoiler: he regains his memories, his hate]] gives him a power to create rainbows. Said rainbows contain subliminal messaging, which turns any creature, that sees or interacts with them into a snail (although it's not clear, whether snail transformations were [[YourMindMakesItReal real]] or just an illisions).** There's also Rohan Kishibe's Stand, Heaven's Door, which takes effect if anyone looks at his manga (even if it's ''drawn in the air''), turning them into books that he can read and edit to control their memories and actions.* In ''Manga/DissolvingClassroom'', the dark energy produced by [[spoiler:Yuuma's apologies]] causes people's brains to melt, and eventually dissolves their entire bodies into goop. [[spoiler:The worse part? They're still alive, or at the very least their souls are still anchored to their liquefied remains.]]* In ''Anime/KadoTheRightAnswer'', SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Yaha-kui's first attempt at communication with a human leaves the poor sod (main character Shindo) writhing on the floor in agony. Fortunately Yaha-kui is able to gain knowledge of Japanese from Shindo's mind (and further from his cell phone's dictionary) and switches to verbal communication.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Asian Animation]]* In the first episode of ''Kuai Le Xin Xin'', whistling causes a PottyEmergency; and, if they're asleep, [[EmbarrassingDampSheets bedwetting]]. It's {{Justified}}, [[TruthInTelevision because many Chinese parents potty-train their kids by whistling.]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* ''ComicBook/TheInvisibles'' must be the chief proponent of the trope, filled with "superdimensional" sounds and words with both positive and negative effects. There's sounds that cause rapid cancer, sounds that opens your consciousness similarly to an explosive, permanent LSD trip, sounds that make you throw up but only if you're a secret agent with multiple cover stories and at one point a hyperdimensional villain is ''defeated by the word "POP"''. (It makes him go pop.)** ''ComicBook/TheInvisibles'' even posits that ''the alphabet itself'' is a Brown Note, the true name of a powerful demon that the Conspiracy uses to restrict human minds by inculcating the name as a sort of mantra in children.* The comic book ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'' has a literal brown note in the form of the bowel disruptor gun, which has settings including "loose", "watery" and "prolapse". And more creative later settings like "Intestinal Maelstrom", "Unspeakable Gut Horror", "Rectal Volcano", and everyone's favorite, "Shat Into Unconsciousness".** Also in ''Transmetropolitan'' are the [[{{Blipvert}} buybombs, a momentary flash of concentrated subliminal advertising]] that comes from the TV screen, which then causes those exposed to see the commercials in their dreams as they sleep.* Creator/WarrenEllis used this trope again, but with more grounding in reality, in the fifth issue of ''ComicBook/GlobalFrequency''. Disturbing subaudible frequencies are a major element of the mystery explored in this issue, and one character mentions the original Brown Note myth.** Also used in ''ComicBook/GlobalFrequency'' #3 with an alien invasion in the form of a signal that contains an alien society in its entirety. Exposure is dangerous even in the form of programming code on a computer screen. Merely reading the code makes an agent's eyes bleed as she struggles to keep the information from reprogramming her mind.* This also occurred in Ellis' ''City of Silence'', where a hacker overrides every TV channel so demons can "relate all the secrets of hell on live TV". Hearing these secrets drives viewers insane... except for the protagonists, who "knew it all already" on account of [[spoiler: being natives of hell]].* In one issue of ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'', there's an idea so disturbing that anyone who hears it has to tell someone else, ''and then kill themselves''. It's stopped by having the last victim tell it to a film producer, then be restrained. The producer declares it "too downbeat" and promptly [[CompletelyMissingThePoint rewrites it to be more cheerful]].* {{ComicBook/Enigma}} features "The Interior League", a supervillain team who sneaks into peoples homes and... rearranges their furniture. In such a way that when viewing it, the owner goes stark raving mad and murders their whole family.* In Creator/JackKirby's ''ComicBook/NewGods'' mythos (and consequently Franchise/TheDCU), there is the ''Anti-Life Equation'', initially a mysterious "thing" which would somehow allow Darkseid to dominate all of life. Creator/GrantMorrison, in his ''ComicBook/SevenSoldiers'' and ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'', explicitly revealed that it is a fundamental mathematical proof that life is not worth living, thus allowing the wielder to destroy the wills of any being by simply exposing them to it. ** There also exists the Life Equation, which is the fundamental proof that life ''is'' worth living. [[spoiler:The heroes use the Life Equation to counter the Anti-Life near the end of ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''.]]* Pied Piper, usually a mostly harmless reformed villain in Franchise/TheDCU, turns out to be able to cause a Brown Note effect with his flute, as demonstrated in ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis''. Not only does he [[YourHeadAsplode kill Desaad]] with it, he ''takes out Apokolips''. And he does it using the music of Music/{{Queen}}. Pied Piper could do this because he was one of the rare humans who possessed the entire Anti-Life Equation inside his mind.** In that same event, Comicbook/{{Superman}} destroyed Darkseid by creating a sound that disrupted his energy form.* An old ''WesternAnimation/CasperTheFriendlyGhost'' comic had a story about a scarecrow so un-scary that the Ghostly Trio gave it the scariest face in existence: a photo of the Ogre of the Black Pool. It was so scary it even scared ghosts! In fact, the only thing it couldn't scare was a sweet little old lady who painted over the scarecrow's face with a friendly one when it came to life and went berserk. (Those old Harvey comics could get ''weird''.)** Speaking of Harvey, ghost boos. They frighten practically ''everything'', even [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu gods and demons!]] (To be fair, though, demons in the Harvey-verse aren't [[OurDemonsAreDifferent exactly terrifying.]]) Even a ghost ''[[YourMindMakesItReal thinking]]'' [[YourMindMakesItReal the word "boo" could scare people]], provided that ghost could communicate telepathically. Subverted when Fatso claimed to be scary enough to cause the sun to go out. He took his skeptical brothers out on a sunny day and ''[[TheLastStraw very quietly]]'' [[TheLastStraw whispered "Boo"]] - and the sun turned black! The two other brothers panicked ("He's scared the sun dark!") until Fatso assured them that the sun would be bright again when it no longer felt frightened. He then went back into the house and [[BreakingTheFourthWall admitted to the reader]] that he had known the exact moment when a solar eclipse would occur.* [[Franchise/TheDCU DCU]] villain Johnny Sorrow's face instantly kills anyone who sees it.** Ditto for the face of Dinu from the the [[MarvelUniverse Marvel]] comic ''ComicBook/TheInhumans''.* From ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'', Fone Bone's reading voice causes mild drowsiness for human listeners, and debilitating pain for rat creatures. This is probably mostly because he always reads ''Literature/MobyDick''.* In Mike Carey's ''Comicbook/{{Lucifer}}'', a primordial Jin En Mok creature in human guise punishes a janitor, who disturbed his train of thought, by giving him a gold coin bearing "the sigil Calx." As the janitor stares transfixed at the sigil, the Jin En Mok tells him that he will look at it more often each day, with a corresponding increase in pain and pleasure, until he dies within a year.* When Marvel Comics had the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' license, they did a ''Deep Space Nine'' Dominion War crossover where the bad guys decided to incapacitate all the good guy telepaths with what amounted to an earworm. It flipped your brain, so friends were enemies and enemies friends. When the Marty Stu original character figured it out, he fought back with another earworm. (TNG telepaths ''liked'' sharing thoughts on the aether.)* ''ComicStrip/LilAbner'':** The strip featured "Lena the Hyena", who was supposed to be so ugly that the sight of her face would cause insanity in Dogpatch residents ''and the reader'', so her face wasn't shown at first. Eventually there was a contest to decide what she looked like.[[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/lena.jpg Basil Wolverton won.]] Lena later made a cameo in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' (as a sex offender in Toontown).** Stupefyin' Jones was the opposite. She was so stunningly beautiful that any male who looked at her would freeze, rooted to the spot. (She was a deadly hazard for any confirmed bachelor on Sadie Hawkins Day, and she would often use her powers then on purpose, [[ForTheEvulz simply for fun]].) Her cousin Available Jones (who was always available - for a price) wasn't above providing her power for a fee if anyone needed someone subdued. * In ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' #45, Ishtar is a [[GodInHumanForm goddess in human form]] working as an exotic dancer, and apparently she's been holding back the full extent of her dancing talents. After a visit from Dream and Delirium, she stops holding back. Her last dance kills the audience and burns the strip club to the ground.* In ''The Apocalypse Suite'' arc of ''ComicBook/TheUmbrellaAcademy'', the antagonist has constructed an orchestra of the sadistic and suicidal to play a symphony that will end the world. Similarly, The White Violin is capable of making heads explode and bodies tear themselves apart by just barely scraping her strings.* In Creator/PhilFoglio's ''ComicBook/BuckGodotZapGunForHire: The Gallimaufry,'' there is a game called "Martian Charades", in which a human performs a series of ritualized gestures at an audience of aliens. The gestures have all been clinically proven to be hysterically funny to almost every race in the cosmos except humans themselves. The alien who can keep a straight face the longest is the winner. Moreover, the sight of an audience of multivariate aliens falling all over itself in laughter tends to make the performing human sick. Making the human sick is considered an important secondary goal of the game. (All of this was suggested in a fan letter after Foglio mentioned "Martian Charades" in an issue of ''Buck Godot,'' and Foglio embraced it as canon.)* Creator/MarvelComics villain Angar the Screamer had the power to cause nightmarish hallucinations by screaming. He would then rob his victims while they were paralyzed with horror. Amnesia would set in after the effect faded, leaving the victims wondering where they'd left their wallets.* Mark Waid's ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'' had a sonic virus that melted off its child victims' skin right down to their bones and animated their skeletons. It spread through the screams of the adult witnesses.** Orian, a demonic hunter, is summoned by merely reading (not aloud) a mystic sigil. He arrives in our world by ripping his way out through the victim's mouth.* A ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'' story seemed to be about this when people celebrating a [[AttackOfTheTownFestival revived pagan festival]] became many interesting shades of crazy while some scientists were conducting mysterious tests at a nearby facility [[spoiler: it turns out that [[AFeteWorseThanDeath the festival itself was the cause]], since the scientists' equipment was not only unplugged but ''never worked to begin with'']].* In the one-shot ''Battle for the Cowl: Arkham Asylum'', the Hamburger Lady believes that her face is so deformed that anyone not already insane can't look upon it. Dr Arkham tries to prove her wrong by looking at her face... and is later implied to have gone insane because of it. [[spoiler: Except that she was a figment of his imagination.]]* One of ''ComicBook/ThargsFutureShocks'' from ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' written by Creator/AlanMoore gave a spin on the alien parasite, ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers''-type tale by suggesting that an alien life form could even be as abstract as an idea. One such "idea" takes over the mind of a person once he/she is told the "idea" by someone already possessed by it.* In ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'', the rival band "Crash and the Boys" has [[ThePowerOfRock a song that is so epic]], it knocks the audience unconscious for twenty to thirty minutes. (Its title is "Last Song Kills Audience".)* ''Magazine/NationalLampoon'' once ran a comic about Ugly Deirdre, a little girl who was so hideous that the sight of her face caused people to lose bowel control. A kind plastic surgeon tried to fix Deirdre's face... and the results were so horrible that anyone who looked at her would violently blind or kill themselves. The cartoonist spared us the sight of the after-surgery face by covering it with a black box labeled "TOO HIDEOUS FOR PUBLICATION".* Again in the DC Comics world, the Accomplished Perfect Physician of the Great Ten (the Chinese Justice League) is capable of both healing diseases and CREATING EARTHQUAKES, among several other things, by making special vocal sounds he learned in his training.* The Mike Allred comic, ''Red Rocket 7'', featured a secret note of existence that if played, signaled the destruction of evil and the dawn of paradise. He used it to destroy an evil alien empire that was invading Earth (after it had taken over most of the universe) and signal the second coming of God.* One issue of ''Peter Parker, the Spectacular SpiderMan'' gave Kraven the Hunter a girlfriend named Calypso, who could play the drums in such a way that it interfered with Peter's spider-sense.* Venus of the ''ComicBook/AgentsOfAtlas'' can affect minds with her song. Usually she puts them in a state of pleasure, but when [[spoiler:she found out that she wasn't a goddess, but actually a Siren]], her wail created a massive depression field.* In ''ComicStrip/BeetleBailey'', swearing forcefully (usually but not always when done by Sergeant Snorkel) can have effects such as stunning people or killing flowers. Not to be confused with the times when Sarge shouts so loudly the sheer volume or wind of it has a physical effect.* Judge Fear (one of a group of undead {{Evil Counterpart}}s) in ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' has the ability to kill anyone who looks at his face through sheer terror, typically by lifting his helmet while delivering his catchphrase. [[spoiler:The title character is sufficiently badass to shrug it off and cave his face in with his bare hands.]]-->'''Judge Fear:''' [[{{Catchphrase}} Gaaaaaze into the face of Fear!]]\\[[spoiler:'''Dredd:''' Gaze into the fist of Dredd!]]* Jeannette of ''ComicBook/SecretSix'' is a centuries old banshee who can make people relive her botched execution with her song. Franchise/WonderWoman, of all people, experienced it firsthand, and the fact that it didn't cause any permanent damage is itself a miracle.* ''ComicBook/{{Iznogoud}}'': Iznogoud once enlists the help of a woman so ugly that seeing her face without a veil causes people to be frozen in horror -- literally (as in, they instantly become encased in a block of ice -- the woman uses her power [[MundaneUtility to keep her sherbet fresh]]). The reader never gets to see her face; [[BreakingTheFourthWall she offers to do so in the last panel]], which is followed by a note saying that the pencil writer did not complete this panel and gave a "frigid reception" to the people sent to retrieve it.* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' seems to like this trope:** Issue 4 to 5 feature a "sound bomb" created by a MadScientist named Pharma. Essentially it creates an incredibly loud booming sound; this sound creates a signal that's somehow laced with a virus. The virus causes the coolants, anti-rusting agents, and other fluids in Transformer-bodies to mix and congeal with each other when the victim transforms. This causes the infected person to literally [[BodyHorror rust away, slowly dissolving bit by bit]]. ** The annual has an ancient being called a Metrotitian. The screams of this being can only be heard or interpreted by comatose people or Transformers with [[TheChosenOne a Matrix connection]]. That's not what qualifies it for this trope. What qualifies it for this trope is the discovery that [[spoiler: it's screams raise the dead]].** A recurring plot point involves a musical score called The Empyrean Suite. The music itself is fairly harmless when played on it's own. However it has connections to something absolutely ''horrifying''; [[NothingIsScarier so horrifying that upon learning the music's significance, Chromedome refuses to ever speak of it again and expresses his hope that Skids never learns the truth behind for the sake of his sanity]]. Turns out [[spoiler: Skids had been tricked into building a smelting furnace for Autobot [=POWs=] in Grindcore prison. The Empyrean Suite was the music played to drown out the screams.]]* In the [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Disney comic]] "Zio Paperone e lo slogan invincibile", John D. Rockerduck hears of an ancient "slogan", a Scottish phrase which supposedly leaves a lasting impression upon anyone who hears it. He proceeds to acquire it and proceeds to incorporate it in a grand advertising campaign for all his products. Too late, he finds out that it's a "slogan" in the old sense... namely, a Scottish clan's BattleCry. It leaves an "impression" upon its listeners all right--anyone who hears it instantly goes into blind panic. Not only Rockerduck is forced to pay a [[ShockinglyExpensiveBill ridiculously large fine]], all his potential customers get conditioned into instictively fearing his products. * In ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'' and shown in greater detail in the ''Siege'' mini-series, the Shield finally raises up roars something so powerful it stuns everyone and causes their ears to pop. A translator able to piece together what he said revealed a three-word, five-syllable phrase: [[spoiler:[[ComicBook/FantasticFour "It's Clobberin' Time!"]]]] * The Comics/YokoTsuno album ''The Devil's Organ'' has the titular instrument, a gigantic OminousPipeOrgan capable of producing sounds of sufficient intensity and low frequency to drive people to insanity or death.* The three-part comic series ''Memetic'' involves the viral spread of a picture of a sloth giving a thumbs up, which causes anyone who sees it to experience a wave of euphoria [[spoiler:and turn into a screaming zombie not twelve hours later. Among other things.]]* Amelia Mintz from ''ComicBook/{{Chew}}'' is a saboscrivner, meaning that she can write or talk about food so vividly that it can cause people to actually taste it. Usually she uses it to do her job (she's a food critic). However, when terrorists try to take over the building, she proceeds to describe a particularly nasty meal, sending them to the hospital.** Later it was revealed, that her power aren't completely developed and at it's full potential it could [[spoiler:induce fatal food poisoning.]] Eventually she [[spoiler:uses it to write manuscript, which would kill anyone, who recently ate chicken.]]* In ''ComicBook/TankVixens'', reading Gedda's diary is enough to make Firen and Sonya forget how FTL travel works.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]* In ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', Sean Cassidy's powers are upgraded from simply 'screaming at people' and 'improbably flying', to a number of other sound related applications. One of these is being able to hit the resonant frequency of various kinds of woods, the point at which they shatter. Wand woods, to be specific. If that didn't make him dangerous enough, chapter 70 reveals that he can also hit the resonant frequency of ''[[BodyHorror bone]]''. * In the ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' fanfic [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6509106/1/Danny_Phantom_Stolen_Years Stolen Years]] of the ''FanFic/FacingTheFutureSeries'', Jack invented a device that emitted a painful sound that only ghosts could hear. [[spoiler: He got the effect [[ReversePolarity backwards]]. It is later used to disable the Guys in White, to rescue Danielle]].* In the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'', there's Havoc, AnthropomorphicPersonification of Mass Hysteria. Looking at his true form will terrify ponies so badly they'll likely never sleep again. His ''voice'' will reduce them to horrified wrecks.* In [[http://thepunishment.tumblr.com/post/7430283171/prequel-daisy the prequel]] to a ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' fanfiction called [[http://thepunishment.tumblr.com The Punishment]], Wheatley falls victim to a glitch programmed into all personality cores which makes them [[CuteMachines "fall]] [[SleepCute asleep"]] at the sound of human singing.* In ''FanFic/FalloutEquestria'', contact with the [[DeadlyGas Pink Cloud]] transforms anything capable of emitting sound (radios, loudspeakers, etc.) into 'corrupted broadcasters' that emit literal ear-piercing noises. Prolonged exposure to their signal can cause [[YourHeadASplode heads to explode.]]* ''Fanfic/InFlight'' has Jinki act like this for Shirou, as they completely confound his Structural Grasp.* ''FanFic/TheStarsWillAidTheirEscape'':** During the attack on Canterlot, [[BigBad Herald]] has [[UnwittingPawn Trixie]] conjure the Red Sigil (an obvious {{expy}} of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos' Yellow Sign), which causes intense pain if you just glimpse it, and insanity if viewed directly.** If Herald removes his mask and shows his [[EldritchAbomination true face]], the viewer's mind is filled with [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow knowledge of the Outer Gods]], which drives them insane. [[spoiler: This is what he does to Twilight Sparkle.]]* ''Fanfic/{{Equestrylvania}}'': Just looking at [[TheGrimReaper Death]]'s face {{Mind Rape}}s the viewer, causing them to relive every terrible memory they have. * In a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot, Twilight Sparkle in ''Fanfic/PagesOfHarmony'' uses infrasound on Fluttershy as part of the procedures to break Kindness from her. The process causes Fluttershy to feel disoriented, a nearly tangible fear that completely overwhelms her as she experiences horrifying visions. * The [[FanFic/TriptychContinuum Triptych Continuum]] ascribes this to [[spoiler:''[[TheNameless her]]'' cutie mark]], stating that ponies looking at it are quite disturbed, with Twilight nearly experiencing it as a breaking event. [[spoiler: The mark is ''animated'', and up until ''she'' came along, no mark had ever moved: the disruption of that level of constant doesn't go over well.]] Notably, however, some individuals aren't affected and claim it's beautiful, while Spike seems to be aware that ''something'' is off, but isn't sure what.* Apparently, an age-regressed [[Fanfic/Gensokyo20XX Reimu]] and trying to understand her (or rather understand her personality and antics) is this for some, as Ran noted that trying to do so would cause mental distress, making the effect rather psychological. The fact that Reimu, by this point, is a youkai doesn't help matters either.* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8806745/3/At-The-End-Of-All-Things The End of All Things]]'' a magical reaction destroys the Horcrux in Harry's scar during second year. It's stated that if Madame Pomfrey had been unlucky enough to hear the scream of the dying Horcrux it would've shattered her mind.* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11053233/1/Number-48 Number 48]]'' Harry's Grim Reaper says that Leviathan's true form is so impossibly beautiful that looking at him causes mortals to feel pain unless he decides otherwise.* In ''[[FanFic/PokemonBlackandWhiteTaleofaLegend Pokemon Black & White: Tale of a Legend]]'', Volan, Thrin, and their dragons are filled with intense pain and anger when they hear [[spoiler:Kyurem's cry]].* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8831374/2/The-Power-of-the-Press The Power of the Press]]'' the screaming of a Horcrux being destroyed gives Sirius nightmares and makes an American observer physically ill.* ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'': In episode 9, "[[Franchise/CthulhuMythos The King In Yellow]]" play makes an appearance. When it's performed, a lot of people goes mad and dies, and [[EldritchAbomination Hastur]] shows up at the end. However, [[spoiler:it's defeated and destroyed.]]* ''FanFic/ThisBites'':** Soundbite learns to produce a sound that causes extreme nausea and disorientation in everyone who hears it, enabling Cross to take them down easier. [[CallingYourAttacks He and Cross christen it "Gastro-Phony" (going off of cacophony) in Chapter 25.]]** When [[spoiler:DJ Gappa of Baron Omatsuri's crew, possessed by Lily, broadcasts on the SBS to invite them to come to their island]], the sheer fakeness being broadcasted sends chills up everyone's spine. To say nothing of what happens when anyone tries calling Soundbite while on the island. All they get is a completely unholy sound, with a hint of ''something'' underneath. [[labelnote: What?]][[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: [[spoiler:My fun. My toys. My food. Go away! ]]]][[/labelnote]]* Ringo's mindsight turns out to function this way in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World''. Any genuine telepath (John is not one) who taps into Ringo while he's using mindsight will instantly become addicted to it, and unless he's heavily shielded, he'll also get the mental equivalent of a bad sunburn. And don't think the mindsight isn't having a comparable addictive effect on Ringo—hence his extreme BlessedWithSuck.* ''Fanfic/BesidesTheWillOfEvil'': The screams of the [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings fell beasts]] cause anyone who hears them to be overwhelmed by visceral terror.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'': The ominous red-eye symbol on Boss Wolf's shoulder and Lord Shen's tail triggers a HeroicBSOD moment for Po, since the evil red eye symbol was associated with a gruesome childhood memory in his home village.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]* ''Film/TheSignal2007'' features an audio/video signal that has a psychological effect on anyone who hears/sees it, causing people to go insane, or become obsessed with the signal, and trying to make others experience the signal.* The videotape from ''{{Ringu}}'' (and its [[ForeignRemake American adaptation]], ''TheRing'') which causes anyone who watches it to die seven days later [[spoiler: unless they made a copy of the tape and gave it to someone else]]. In the American version, the short film ''Rings'' and the website "[[http://www.she-is-here.com/ She Is Here]]" expand on the concept; Samara's videotape is treated almost like a mind-expanding drug.** In the original novels, it eventually becomes clear that the tape is not, in a traditional sense, haunted. The tape causes physical changes to the viewer's body, eventually resulting in their death. The film adaptation differs from this.* Creator/DavidCronenberg's ''Film/{{Videodrome}}'', about a TV signal that causes brain tumors and hallucinations. The discoverers of the signal attach it to a violent {{gorn}} show [[spoiler: in order to clean up society by killing everyone who watches violent television]].* In ''Film/MysteryMen'', Casanova Frankenstein built a machine that could warp [[RealityWarper reality itself]]. Apparently the equations underlying it were so complex that anybody who studied them would go insane. Fortunately for Frankenstein, he was [[ObfuscatingInsanity already insane]] and had spent a decade in [[BedlamHouse the asylum]] with several of those scientists.* ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' has the Knights who say Ni!. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Like their name makes clear]], they utter the word "Ni!" in a very screechy high pitched voice to hurt passing travelers and scare them into doing their bidding. "Ni!" works whether it's the Knights saying it or someone else, as when King Arthur is [[ItMakesSenseInContext harassing that old woman to find a shrubbery]]. [[spoiler:It's later revealed the word "it" serves as a Brown Note against the Knights themselves.]]* In ''Film/MarsAttacks!'', it is discovered that the Martians' main weakness is the singing voice of Slim Whitman; a recording of "Indian Love Call" causes [[YourHeadAsplode their heads to explode]]. Seriously.* In ''Film/AttackOfTheKillerTomatoes'', the eponymous tomatoes are pacified by a song called "Puberty Love". The last tomato, wearing earmuffs, was defeated by [[spoiler:showing it a copy of the sheet music.]]* The ''Film/JamesBond'' film ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' opens with the assassination of the United Kingdom's ambassador to the United Nations, carried out through sound piped through his translation earpiece.* According to the Metatron in ''Film/{{Dogma}}'':-->"... human beings have neither the aural nor the psychological capacity to withstand the awesome power of God's true voice. Were you to hear it, your mind would cave in and your heart would explode within your chest. We went through five Adams before we figured that out."** At the end of the film, [[spoiler:God kills a now-mortal Bartleby by speaking a single word in his ear. His head blows up. The viewer hears only a deep, loud thrumming noise.]]* ''Film/{{Pi}}'' is about a number sequence that helps define the universe. However, the process of determining this number is fatally destructive to a computer, be it machine or human.* The film ''Film/{{Pontypool}}'' is about a memetic virus that is spread through human speech, leading to confusion and murder.-->"For your safety, please avoid contact with close family members, and refrain from the following: all terms of endearment, such as 'honey' or 'sweetheart'; babytalk with young children; and rhetorical discourse. For greater safety, please avoid the English language. Do not... [[OhCrap translate... this message.]]"* ''The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz'' features the Tuning Fork of Annihilation. When played back over the emergency broadcast system, it causes the destruction of all TV sets and kills all children who hear it.* In Steve Sullivan's ''[[http://www.stevesullivan.co.uk/heap.html A Heap of Trouble]]'', any man who hears the naked men singing about walking down the road has an irresistible urge to join them.* In ''Film/IronMan1'', one of the weapons Stark Industries has developed is an auditory paralysis device. It causes anyone who hears the noise to be temporarily paralyzed. The government didn't OK production because it violates the Geneva convention. Obadiah, however, has no qualms about using it for his own gain more than once.* In ''Film/HighAnxiety'' Dr. Wentworth gets [[spoiler:trapped in his car and killed from an ear hemorrhage caused by the loud rock music blaring from the car radio.]]* In ''Film/DisturbingBehavior'', the E-Rat-icator device used by [[AlmightyJanitor Mr. Newburry]] is designed to have this effect on rats to drive them away, but it doesn't work so well. [[spoiler:[[ChekhovsGun It is, however]], '' damn '' effective against [[MindControlDevice mind-control chips]].]]* The Sick Sticks in ''Film/MinorityReport'' cause the victim to projectile vomit.* The Creator/DavidLynch film version of ''Film/{{Dune}}'' shows Atrades advanced weaponry is sonic in nature, using ultra and/or infrasound to shatter structures, inflict pain in enemy soldiers, etc. [[spoiler: When Paul becomes TheChosenOne he acquires the ability to imitate the effects of this sonic weaponry with just his voice]]-->'''Atreides:''' [[WordsCanBreakMyBones I can kill with a word]].\\'''Soldier:''' And his word shall bring death eternal for all those who stand against the righteous!* In the ''Film/RockyAndBullwinkle'' movie, the villains use a television program that causes the viewers to become zombies and attempt to broadcast it across the United States so Fearless Leader can become president.* In ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', whatever's inside TheArkOfTheCovenant will melt your face off if you look at it when the cover comes off.* ''Film/{{Constantine}}''. When John is trying to exorcise a demon from a little girl he tells the men helping him not to look. One of them does and his [[LockedIntoStrangeness hair instantly turns white]].* In ''Film/TheLordsOfSalem'' the song on the strange record has this effect on Heidi. * ''Film/KickAss2'' has the Sick Stick, a stun baton of sorts that induces instantaneous nausea and diarrhea on it's victims. Hit-Girl uses it on the AlphaBitch and her GirlPosse for humiliating her.* ''Film/{{RIPD}}'': A dead-o weapon releases a sound that's harmless to their own kind but cause RIPD officers to move at a snail's pace.* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/TheChase'', when Jackson Hammond (Creator/CharlieSheen) tells his kidnapping victim to stop screaming at him because her voice is so [[MostAnnoyingSound high and whiny]] he can almost feel it boring into his skull. ("It's like a drill!")* In the religious horror film ''Film/DeliverUsFromEvil'' the (apparent) head villain repeatedly leaves graffiti in the form of latin/persian incantions written in strange places. It turns out [[spoiler: simply reading these incantations, not necessarily even out loud, allows the reader to be possessed by a demon]].* In the UsefulNotes/NewZealand-made film ''Film/{{Deathgasm}}'', the protagonist stumbles upon some sheet music that when played, turns anyone within earshot into demons.* In the 2015 film ''{{Film/Kingsman The Secret Service}}'', the villain develops a signal (transmittable by cell phone) which causes anyone nearby to become violently homicidal. The first live test is done in a crowded church, while a highly competent secret agent happens to be present. The resulting four minutes of deadly free-for-all is epic.* The last segment of the horror anthology ''Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear'' features video recordings of experiments with a lethal BrownNote musical piece that makes listeners tear themselves apart. The researchers had to destroy the eardrums of their pianist just to let him play the whole thing, and it ''still'' killed him when he finished.* ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'': The concussion from the tank's main gun firing in the opening sequence puts the pursuing constables on the ground, groaning and helpless. {{Justified}} considering they just had several artillery shells powerful enough to blow the vault door off its hinges go off in a confined space; the bigger surprise is that the overpressure didn't outright kill them and that the Fantom and his men can still hear each other (apparently the tank cabin has ''very'' good sound insulation).[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* In ''Creator/SimonRGreen's'' Nightside series, there is The Speaking Gun, which is considered the most dangerous weapon in all of existence. It is not even a gun in the conventional sense at all, but a conglomeration of flesh, bone, gristle & skin in the rough shape of an oversized handgun. It is infused with both the power of the one who commissioned it [[spoiler:''Lilith'']] and the ancient words that God used at the beginning of time to create the universe. It harnesses it's knowledge of these words of power and speaks the [[IKnowYourTrueName True Name]] that was granted by God of whatever it is pointing it at backwards, effectively [[CessationOfExistence uncreating]] it. It is very much a sentient creature in and of itself. The Speaking Gun hates existence, and everything in it. It knows the true names of everything, longs to "unspeak" them, but resents the fact that it cannot do so without someone to pull it's trigger. * ''The Piano Tuner'' features a minor character who, according to his story, was deafened after hearing a mysterious woman-deer-deity sing during a sandstorm.* The word "[[spoiler:fnord!]]", from the ''Literature/{{Illuminatus}}'' trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea; at a young age, everybody is trained to unconsciously ignore the word, but feel unspecified fear and anxiety when they see it.* The {{fictional|Document}} play ''The King In Yellow'', featuring in Creator/RobertWChambers' collection of horror stories [[Literature/TheKingInYellow by the same name]], caused anyone who read it -- no actual ''performances'' are ever suggested -- to either go mad or meet a horrible death. Often in that order. Rightly censored by governments, it was, effectively, a civilization-destroying ForbiddenFruit.* ''The King In Yellow'' was later absorbed by Creator/AugustDerleth into his elaborated Franchise/CthulhuMythos, with the reveal that an actual vocal performance of the play is a [[SpeakOfTheDevil summoning ritual for]] Hastur. Anyone who ''wasn't'' driven insane by reading or viewing the play can say goodbye to their sanity once ''he'' shows up.* In the novel ''InfiniteJest'', a movie known only as "The Entertainment" was described as so fascinating, anyone who watched it became obsessed with it.* In ''[[Literature/SpaceMarineBattles Malodrax]]'', the music in Dancing-Place of the Lesser Gods can bring a SuperSoldier to his knees and incapacitate him. One of its victims is said to bleed from his eyes and mouth.* In ''Literature/HyperspaceDemons'' looking into the lights of hyperspace can drive a human being mad. On the other hand, humans can be exposed to hyperlight with closed eyes with no ill effects.* In ''Literature/BlackLegion'', the Talon of Horus is this to anyone with psychic sight, due to the fact that it was used to kill Sanguinus and mortally injure the Emperor. When he feels it for the first time, Khayon, a powerful sorcerer in his own right, nearly passes out.* Conversly, in ''Literature/HorusHeresy'', the Emperor himself. He's so powerful, most of the psykers who look at him suffer from massive SensoryOverload. One of them has a panic attack upon remembering the sight. It even bleeds over to mortal world -- most people can't look at the Emperor directly when he's not masquerading. It's said that only Primarchs and Malcador don't suffer from this.* SF author Creator/DavidLangford invented the Langford fractal basilisk or blit ([[http://data.tumblr.com/13741903_500.jpg see here]]), a fictional type of computer-generated image that acts as a LogicBomb to the human brain. In the story, it is explained that logical paradoxes like [-THIS SENTENCE IS FALSE-] aren't normally dangerous to our sanity or our health because we filter them through three or more levels of cognitive understanding; basilisks, as theorized by Langford, cut right past cognition and [[YouAreAlreadyDead infect you directly]] through the visual cortex. [[http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/blit.htm One of the stories.]] According to Langford, [[YouAreAlreadyDead death is not immediate]], because YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm.** Some PostCyberpunk writers who've used the concept have [[ShoutOut acknowledged]] Langford as inspiration: Creator/GregEgan calls it the "Langford Mind-Erasing Fractal Basilisk"; Creator/{{Ken MacLeod}}'s ''Literature/FallRevolution'' series has the "Langford Visual Hack"; and Creator/CharlesStross has "neural wetware-crashing Langford fractals" and the "Langford Death Parrot". ([=MacLeod=] also has his narrator claim it's completely impossible, but now the ''idea'' of it is out there people feel they have to take precautions, concluding "What kind of twisted mind ''starts'' these things?")* An image similar to Langford's "basilisk" was used in the Franchise/StarTrek novel ''Before Dishonor''.* The short story ''Von Goom's Gambit'' featured a mathematician who became the world champion chess player "by default" when he discovered a certain arrangement of pieces on the board which formed an image that would short out the brain of anyone who saw it from the opposing player's perspective. Effects of the gambit included: causing some to go blind, driving others insane, and in one instance even causing all of those who saw the gambit at one tournament to turn to stone.* Creator/HPLovecraft:** The fictional [[TomeOfEldritchLore black magic tome]], the Necronomicon (aka the ''Al Azif'') by the "mad poet" Abdul Alhazred. It was written under the influence of some pretty heavy, although unspecified, drugs, among other things. It ''is'' supposed to cause or trigger madness in the careless reader.** Almost everything in Lovecraft's stories is described as being just a little bit harmful to sanity. He must have been fascinated by the idea of things so horrifying and/or alien they're inherently upsetting. Besides of all the {{Eldritch Abomination}}s and other {{Ultimate Evil}}s you really don't want [[TakeOurWordForIt to look at too closely]], there are things such as Pickman's paintings, of which the tamer ones caused an uproar when displayed, while the ones he didn't show everyone were enough to make a jaded and prepared onlooker scream in terror.** Played utterly straight in the story ''Out of the Aeons'' (co-written with Hazel Heald). The EldritchAbomination featured there is so horrible and/or accursed that not just its appearance, but even any sufficiently-accurate ''image'' thereof will cause a human onlooker to soon afterwards grow stiff and be transformed into their own mummy -- [[spoiler:while their brain remains alive and [[AndIMustScream helplessly trapped inside their skull]]]].** In "Literature/TheCallOfCthulhu", the awakening of Cthulhu results in people being slaughtered and three men dropping dead from horror. A further two lose their sanity, one of whom is left a [[DrivenToMadness blubbering mess]].** In "The Music of Erich Zann", the eponymous character's music apparently acts as this for [[spoiler: [[EldritchAbomination whatever the hell is]] on the other side of his apartment's [[AlienGeometries "window"]], and keeps [[EldritchAbomination it/them]] from trying to enter our world]].* One of Ramsey Campbell's more notable additions to the Franchise/CthulhuMythos was [[spoiler:Y'Golonac]]. Part of the reason why was how easily [[spoiler:Y'Golonac]] could be summoned: if you just ''read'' his name -- not even aloud, but on the printed page -- there was a chance you could end up possessed by him. [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife Which you've already done twice]]. Seeing as he's a god that represents ''every'' act that could be viewed as depraved by ''all'' individuals sane or mad, this is not a pleasant fate.* ''Literature/TheDragonBelow'' trilogy has a [[EldritchAbomination Daelkyr]] whose telepathic voice gives sane people horrendous headaches and insane people orgasms.* The plot of Neal Stephenson's ''Literature/SnowCrash'' revolves around the titular Snow Crash virus which ''resets'' a person to speaking and understanding only ancient Sumerian, which is described as a programming language for human beings. It allows people to be programmed directly, but leaves them gibbering crazy people spouting glossolalia until then, and shows up in the form of a bitmap image. All hackers are vulnerable, because they can understand the embedded binary code in this bitmap, which causes their unconscious to be able to pick up and mentally "run" the virus. Any {{hacker|s}} who sees the bitmap, whether in cyberspace or in real life, becomes infected with the virus and instantly turns into a wandering bag-lady (or, erm... bag-lord?).** The concept of "ice" capable of killing people in [[YourMindMakesItReal virtual reality]], which originated in Creator/WilliamGibson's short story "Burning Chrome" and his novel ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}'', is often based on the same idea of an image [[GoMadFromTheRevelation or piece of data]] that the [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm brain cannot process]].* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':** {{Logic Bomb}}s are used in the novel ''Discworld/ThiefOfTime'' to slow down (or destroy) the logical and obedient Auditors, in the form of signs saying things like "Ignore this sign (by order)", and an arrow pointing right that says "Keep Left".** The Discworld also features the [[WarriorPoet gonagles]] of the Nac Mac Feegle, who fight by reciting atrocious poetry and by playing music on their painfully high-pitched mousepipes. They can make it rain.** [[GreatBigLibraryOfEverything The Library of the Unseen University]] is full of books that do [[TomeOfEldritchLore horrible things to people]]. In particular the Necrotelecomnicon (Written by Achmed the Mad, who preferred to be known as Achmed the I Just Get These Headaches) will drive mad any man who attempts to read it. Fortunately [[NoManOfWomanBorn The Librarian isn't a man]] (but an orangutan) so he has no problem with it.** On a less-rarified level, the 128-foot "Earthquake" pipe on the UU's pipe organ is said to have caused acute bowel discomfort across a quarter of the city when sounded. Which was only attempted once, as the same subterranean-depth note also got the six students who'd worked the bellows to power the organ sucked into the ductwork, plus the university's Great Hall shifted an inch to one side.** The people of [[UsefulNotes/{{Wales}} Llamedos]] are said to have once been a terrible martial race whose battle-choirs could reduce any foe to quaking jelly just by close harmonic singing. They employed battle-harps which in the lowest register could cause walls to collapse, and the bowels of the foe to do terrible and unseemly things. ** In a less-than-lethal example, the species of bird called "geas" (mentioned in ''Sourcery'') uses this trope defensively, by being so monumentally silly-looking that any potential predator will laugh itself sick at the sight.** Bouncy Normo, a character described in supplemental material on the Fools' Guild, was an otherwise-ordinary Ankh-Morpork citizen who just happened to be ''so'' insanely-hilarious to witness no matter what he did - whether walking, speaking, shaving, or just standing with his back to the audience - that he was kept in seclusion to prevent people from laughing themselves to death. He had no idea why everyone laughed at him all the time, and eventually died a side-splittingly funny death involving a flight of stairs and a high bounce off an awning.** The Patrician's waiting room has a clock designed so that the ticking is irregular, the sounds coming a tiny bit before or after you're expecting it, or sometimes not happening at all. After it has tried to make sense of this for about ten minutes, one's mental state is reduced to mush.* One of the best known examples of a Brown Note in Hispanic literature is in ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zahir The Zahir]]'', a short story by Creator/JorgeLuisBorges. In the story, the Zahir is a random, unique object, picked by Allah himself, which drives anyone who takes even a tiny little peek to obsession with that thing, to the point of becoming unable to feed himself out of pure detachment. The list includes a navigation device, a tiger, a vein of marble in a mosque, and an Argentinian coin with a "2N" scratched on one side. The story itself tells how the character became increasingly obsessed with the Zahir.** This trope was a favorite of Borges' (especially the obsession version). In ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_book_of_sand The Book of Sand]]'' the protagonist becomes obsessed with a book which has no beginning and no end. In ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Tigers Blue Tigers]]'' the protagonist becomes obsessed with a collection of stones which defy all laws of mathematics.* ''Ubbo-Sathla'', a story from the Franchise/CthulhuMythos by Clark Ashton Smith, is about a British archeologist, called Paul Tregardis, who found a strange gem that causes anyone who looks into it long enough to have all his mind and consciousness transferred to all the ones who looked at the gem before, until his body disappears and his mind is transferred to the "original chaos"--the eponymous Ubbo-Sathla, primordial font of the original organic life-forms (think Gnostic Demiurge with no mentality at all beyond reflex). He might not have even considered doing so... [[SchmuckBait except for the legends]] about an EvilSorcerer who tried to use the thing to get a peek at the spell-holding tablets Ubbo-Sathla had been situated upon. The legends, of course, only knew that he had disappeared--not that it had happened via backwards reincarnation. And the beginning of the story suggests that the gem will ultimately shuttle all life back to be one of Ubbo-Sathla's mindless brood...* In the Creator/CordwainerSmith short story ''The Fife of Bodhidharma'', the fife can cause either serenity or madness, depending on how it is played.* Necromancers' bells in the ''Literature/OldKingdom'' trilogy by Creator/GarthNix. Different bells give different effects, and the effect also depends on how the bell is played. One of the bells kills everyone who hears it, including the player.* A variation of this occurs in ''Literature/AClockworkOrange''. After Alex's psychological conditioning, he is unable to listen to classical music without feeling sick and weak (in the film, only [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven's]] Ninth has this effect). At one point, one of Alex's former victims uses this knowledge in an attempt to drive him insane.* ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''** [[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1 The first book]]: Vogon poetry in a form of CoolAndUnusualPunishment.--->''Vogon poetry is the third worst poetry in the universe. The second worst is that of the Azgoths of Kria. During a recitation by their Poet Master Gruthos the Flatulent of his poem "Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in My Armpit One Midsummer Morning", four of his audience died of internal hemorrhaging, and the President of the Mid-Galactic Arts Nobbling Council survived by gnawing one of his own legs off. Gruthos was said to be "disappointed" by the poem's reception, and was about to recite his masterpiece, "Some of My Favorite Bathtub Gurgles", when his small intestine, in an attempt to save galactic civilization, leapt into his skull and throttled his brain.''** Arthur Dent isn't terribly bothered by Vogon poetry since humans are capable of writing and listening to worse poetry. The very worst poet in the universe was a human being who perished when Earth was destroyed.** ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse'': The "Total Perspective Vortex" (a machine that displays a map of the entire universe with a tiny beyond microscopic dot that says "You are here") causes anyone run through it to feel so insignificant that they go mad (except Zaphod, and that was under special circumstances). It's used as a humane way to carry out the death penalty, since the brain can't handle that much data and simply stops working.* The ''Literature/FatherBrown'' story "The Blast of the Book" has a book that supposedly causes anyone who tries to read it to vanish into thin air and never be seen again. [[spoiler: It's actually all just an elaborate practical joke.]] Creator/RobertAntonWilson brazenly plagiarizes this in MasksOfTheIlluminati* ''[[Literature/TalesFromTheWhiteHart The Ultimate Melody]]'' by Creator/ArthurCClarke revolved around a scientist attempting to reproduce the primal tune from which all music is derived. He succeeded, but on hearing the song [[EarWorm caught it in his head for the rest of his life]], rendering him catatonic. On discovering him, his assistant shut off the machine playing the tune, and it was dismantled before it could be reactivated; the assistant was [[DisabilityImmunity immune to the effect due to being tone-deaf]].* The Creator/FritzLeiber short story "Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-TAH-Tee" is about the discovery of a waltz rhythm that causes anyone who hears it to become maniacally obsessed with it, listen for other examples of it, and recreate it at every opportunity.* The Creator/ChuckPalahniuk novel ''Literature/{{Lullaby}}'' is about a poem which kills anyone to whom it is recited. Or even those toward whom it is '''[[ParanoiaFuel thought.]]'''* Palahniuk also included a box in ''Literature/{{Haunted}}'' with an eyepiece. Looking inside had some horrible effects such as madness and consequent suicide.* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Magic the Gathering}}'' novel for the Apocalypse set, Lord Windgrace uses a thought which kills the thinker against a dragon engine, starting the thought in his head and sending it to the dragon engine before it becomes fully formed within his own mind.* ''Literature/HarryPotter''** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''*** Passing references to books that burn out the reader's eyeballs. And also books that can't physically be put down -- readers are cursed to go around reading those books for the rest of their lives.*** A more harmless example is the occasionally-mentioned ''Sonnets of a Sorcerer'', which makes you speak in limericks for the rest of your life.*** The big threat of the book is a basilisk -- a gigantic one, at that.*** The legend of the Mandrake (see below). The students have to wear hearing protection when pulling them out of the ground. Immature mandrakes just cause fainting. One can even tell their level of maturity by what they do--when they start trying to move into each other's pots, they're mature. The movie adaptation {{subverted}} it, though: when Neville passed out while handling the mandrakes Professor Sprout assumes he didn't have his earmuffs on all the way, but Seamus checks and says he just fainted on his own.--->'''Prof. Sprout:''' Yes, well, just leave him there.** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' the tentacled flying brains that attack Ron do more than just physical damage, ''"There were still deep welts on his forearms where the brain’s tentacles has wrapped around him. According to Madam Pomfrey, thoughts could leave deeper scarring than almost anything else, though since she started applying copious amounts of Dr. Ubbly’s Oblivious Unction, there seemed to be some improvement."''** ''Literature/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'' has, along with the basilisk, the Fwooper. Prolonged exposure to Fwooper call is said to make listeners go insane. One wizard who tried to prove that Fwooper call was ''beneficial'' to health came back wearing nothing but a dead badger on his head. Granted, this was Uric the Oddball, who, as the name implies, wasn't all that sound to start.*** Subverted with the Augurey, a bird whose cry was once said to predict death. As it turned out, the Augurey merely cries out at the coming of bad weather. (Uric the Oddball, mentioned above, once heard an Augurey cry and was convinced he was dead; he ended up with a concussion after trying to walk through a wall.) Some wizards keep Augureys as weather forecasters, but their constant moaning in winter makes them hard to put up with.* The protagonist of Creator/IanMcDonald's novella ''Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone'' has discovered visual patterns with various effects on human neurology -- and has two of them, one that blanks memory and one that kills, tattooed onto his own palms as self-defense.* ''The Euphio Question'' by Creator/KurtVonnegut was about a device which picked up the "music of the spheres" (though it wasn't called that.) Anyone who heard it experienced pure happiness and, because they had no desire to fulfill their needs, stopped whatever they were doing to listen to it.* Will Ferguson's novel ''Happiness™'' is about a self-help book which tells you how to lose weight, make million of dollars, have great sex and be happy -- and actually works. Somehow, reading the book acts on your mind to make you happy and content. This brings about the collapse of the economy, the death of culture and the end of history. Or, more simply, the end of the world.* A Creator/ChinaMieville short story features a disease which causes the victim to slowly go insane while [[MadnessMantra constantly repeating]] a phrase referred to only as the "worm-word." The disease is caused by pronouncing the word properly; it is theorized that the sufferer repeats it so that the listeners will repeat it in confusion, risking infection through proper pronunciation. (There is mention of young Victorians who would live dangerously and take turns reading the word aloud, each time gambling with accidentally getting the pronunciation right.) This story first appeared in ''The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases'' as "Buscard's Murrain" and was reprinted in his collection ''Literature/LookingForJake''. For those who like to live dangerously, the word is [[spoiler:yGudluh]].** That story isn't the only one in the Lambshead Guide, either. There's actually a warning marker for diseases which can be contracted by reading the descriptions - and it gets used several times.* A seemingly harmless bard in Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' series at one point plays a song with massively nasty effects on the listeners. [[spoiler: Subverted eventually, with the revelation that he's the telepathic BigBad and the music just enhanced powers he already had. And his performances have been the undoing of worlds.]]* Creator/StephenKing** ''Literature/{{Cell}}'' has people reset to a primitive state by a signal they receive over their cell phones. It's even a literal reference to the TropeNamer, since afterward they don't seem to notice or care about soiling their clothes.** ''Literature/EverythingsEventual'' revolves around a man who can make people kill themselves by sending them a seemingly random pattern of symbols and a word that is significant to their life over email.** In ''Literature/{{IT}}'', the sight of the title monster's [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm true form]] causes whoever views it to go completely insane.** The scrimshaw Turtle in ''Literature/SongOfSusannah'', a [[ClingyMacGuffin Clingy Artifact]] which possesses whoever sees it in a ''good'' way, hypnotizing them and leaving a chain of forgetful, happy people in its wake. The turtle is possibly a ShoutOut to [[Creator/JorgeLuisBorges Borges]] above, given its presumably divine origins.** The [[ArtifactOfDoom "Black Thirteen"]] crystal ball from ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series has similar effects from an evil perspective. Left alone, it would kill everyone it comes in contact with by causing them to kill or commit suicide and/or [[SpeakOfTheDevil release the Beast into the world]]. Fortunately, the heroes, who are [[ImNotAfraidOfYou pressed for time]], decide to leave it in a long-term storage locker [[spoiler:under the World Trade Center]].* The [[color:blue:house]], particularly the deeper parts of it (such as the Grand Hall and the Spiral Staircase), in ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves''. Some would argue that ''[[TomeOfEldritchLore the book itself]]'' is a RealLife Brown Note. Seriously, it's that strange. It has managed to cause [[http://www.houseofleaves.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1759&highlight=dreams+ inspired nightmares]].** The '''[[color:red:Minotaur]]'''.* Creator/MarkTwain's witty essay/short story ''Punch, Brothers, Punch!'' (also known as "A Literary Nightmare") concerns a tune which the narrator is unable to force from his head, and is unusual in that the killer verse is presented for us in full -- and the nature of the silly little ditty is such that just reading the lyrics really ''is'' enough to get the damn tune [[EarWorm stuck in the reader's head]]! He finally banishes it from his mind [[spoiler:by tricking a friend into getting it stuck in ''his'' head.]]--> Conductor, when you receive a fare, Punch in the presence of the passenjare! A blue trip slip for an eight-cent fare, A buff trip slip for a six-cent fare, A pink trip slip for a three-cent fare, Punch in the presence of the passenjare! CHORUS Punch brothers! Punch with care! Punch in the presence of the passenjare!* ''Centerburg Tales: More Adventures of Homer Price'' by Robert [=McCloskey=] has a story where someone puts a horrible song on the jukebox in the lunch counter. Anyone who hears the song-- whether the original jukebox tune or someone else's rendition-- can't get it out of their head. Ultimately the main character gets it out of his head by using ''Punch, Brothers'' (above), then gives it to the rest of the town. Now he's cleared but they have it. So, he tells them to sing it to the one person who hadn't been in town. Now everyone is cleared except that person, who now has to be smuggled out of town to keep from reinfecting the whole town.** The flip side of the same record causes the listener to [[spoiler:get hiccups at the thought of the words "pie" or "Mississippi".]]* In Creator/ThomasPynchon's ''Literature/TheCryingOfLot49'', Dr. Hilarius, [[ThoseWackyNazis That Wacky ex-Nazi]], claims to be able to cause madness by making weird faces at people. And then those nice young men in their clean white coats come to take him away (ha ha).* The [[WordsCanBreakMyBones Deplorable Word]] from ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' was used by [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Jadis]] to destroy [[AlternateUniverse Charn]], her homeworld. We don't learn what the word is--only that it kills ''every living thing'' except the one who speaks it. We do learn that, whatever it is, it does not work on Earth.[[note]]Magic isn't the same from world to world. So the White Witch had to spend ages learning how to use Narnian magic.[[/note]]-->'''Aslan:''' While mankind has not yet reached the levels of corruption that Charn has, there ''is'' the possibility that man could learn the Deplorable Word.* Peter F. Hamilton's ''Literature/NightsDawnTrilogy'' introduces a mind-destroying version as a weapon. This is a universe where the soul is immortal, and the souls of the dead are coming back to possess the living, gaining "[[RealityWarper energistic]]" powers in the process. The "Anti-memory device" is humanity's response: a laser beam that carries a mind-virus. When viewed by human eyes, the virus is processed into the cortex, where it proceeds to destroy the "mind" (i.e. thought processes), thus killing both the possessing soul and the soul of the body's owner, leaving the body in a vegetative state. The resident SufficientlyAdvancedAliens are [[spoiler: unsurprised by the fact that humanity was the first to perfect such a terrible weapon. They theorize that the virus might even transmit back into the afterlife (with which the possessing souls still have a connection), kill every lost soul in there, and go past the "human spectrum" and attack alien souls as well]]. It's ''that'' bad. What's more: [[spoiler: [[BigBad Quinn]] [[OmnicidalManiac Dexter]] gets the weapon at one point. He's very happy when he finds out what it does. Turns out it facilitates possession when the body is soul-less.]]* ''Literature/TheDemolishedMan'' by Alfred Bester mentions advertising melodies called 'pepsis' which, once heard, are almost impossible to remove from the conscious mind, due to the way they are constructed. The BigBad asks specifically to hear one of them because he wants to use it as a [[PsychicStatic blocking mechanism to avoid telepathic detection of the criminal thoughts]] he harbors.** These {{Earworm}} riffs are TruthInTelevision and well known to advertising agencies.* The whole plot of Simon R. Green's ''[[{{Literature/Nightside}} Nightingale's Lament]]'' deals with this: a singer whose songs cause (some) audience members to commit suicide.* Creator/PiersAnthony** The ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' novel ''Night Mare''. Looking into a hypnogourd caused a person's consciousness to enter the gourd, leaving them catatonic.** In ''Macroscope'' there is a sort of video that will destroy the intelligence of anyone above a certain IQ who hasn't evolved beyond violent tendencies.* Paul Robinson's short story ''It Can't Be That Bad'' tells how Clark Rosecrans discovered something terrible that bothered him. He goes to visit a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist, upon hearing what Clark knows, uses a chair to bash a hole in the window of his 20th story office, and jumps out, screaming. His secretary calls the police, and at first it's thought Clark has killed the psychiatrist. So he's taken down to the station to be interviewed. A police officer and a deputy district attorney interview him before his lawyer show up. When they hear his story, the police officer draws his revolver and eats a bullet. The Deputy DA runs out, runs across the street, and jumps off a bridge. The tape recording of the interview is transcribed. After the transcriber finishes, she walks out of the office, walks into the ladies' room and drowns herself in a toilet. Her supervisor picks up the transcript, reads it, then walks down to the motor pool, douses himself with gasoline, and lights a match. The DA has decided not to prosecute, because first, nobody knows if he's done anything illegal, and second, because no judge will touch the case, for fear of hearing what Clark has to say. The joke is, every time Clark tells his story, he's worried, and the response is always, "Oh, it can't be ''that'' bad."* In ''The Idol of Cyclades'' by Julio Cortazar the main character is driven mad by a statuette he had found while exploring an island. He spends months making replicas of it until his replicas are identical to the original. In the end he [[spoiler: attempts to sacrifice his friend to anoint it with blood]].* Creator/JohnVarley's short story ''Press Enter'' starts with an investigation into the suicide, possible murder, of a computer hacker and reveals [[spoiler: that somebody roaming the young Internet (or perhaps the Internet itself) defends against persistent probing with a signal that compels the intruder to commit suicide]].* Jacqueline Carey's ''Literature/KushielsLegacy'' books feature the "Name of God", a powerful word that contains within it the secrets of the nature of the entire world... or something like that. Carey resorts to some very clumsy cheats in order to avoid printing the Name. Whenever it is spoken, it appears as "____________".** She uses these "clumsy" cheats because [[spoiler: when Phedre speaks the Name of God, everyone later says that the word they heard was "love" in their mother tongue.]]* Ted Chiang's short story ''Understand'' features two super-intelligent people duelling by trying to implant deadly Brown Notes in each other. [[spoiler:The one that succeeds had been subconsciously planted in its victim in the previous few days; it is then triggered when his enemy tells him to "Understand"]]* One of Creator/BentleyLittle's perverse stories involves a numerical code that causes anyone who looks at it to suffer a crippling orgasm. The military considers using it to end all wars.* The hero of one of Creator/MercedesLackey's ''[=SERRAted=] Edge'' novels uses the entire discography of Music/TheyMightBeGiants to do this to a group of psychics sicced on him by the BigBad; the theory was that the nonsensical nature of the band's lyrics made it impossible to sing along to without devoting a considerable amount of conscious thought to them, meaning his (and their) minds would be too preoccupied with thinking about the lyrics to do much of anything else. (It helped that the psychics trying to pick his brain were culturally stuck in the Middle Ages and had no ''possible'' context by which to even begin to grasp what was going on in his head; one of them was led off wailing helplessly about alchemical formulae.) Also, they were [[EarWorm Ear Worms]], so every pyschic who didn't have them stuck in their head yet would hear it from the ones who are already affected, thus infecting them too.** However, one of the hobgoblin servants found the tunes quite catchy and was also singing them before [[spoiler: being bitch-slapped by his boss]].* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', at one point they fight a race of aliens called Howlers, who have a screaming cry that has very nasty effects on any sentient creature who hears it. Interestingly, morphing into something with a simpler brain can apparently protect you from it. There's a scene where everybody in different shapes hears the Howlers' cry. Ax, who is not morphed and has a highly-developed brain, is most affected, and starts bleeding from the eyes/nose/etc., while everybody else has different reactions according to what they've morphed into.* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' universe has the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3VtzMxmPs0 Nazgul's screeching]].* Creator/AndreNorton's novel ''Literature/LordOfThunder'' mentioned that subsonic noise could be used to control animals or drive them into madness.* The ''Dance of the Gods'' quadrilogy by Mayer Alan Brenner has a character named [[spoiler: Jurtan Mont]] who has a mental illness that causes him to hear a soundtrack to his life, to the point that hearing music outside of his mind made his brain jealous and knocked him out. Later on he finds that playing [[spoiler: (or in some cases just shouting)]] the music in his head knocks out or puts others to sleep.* In ''Literature/DreamPark'', an industrial spy steals samples of 'neutral scent', an odor that causes a person's pre-existing emotions to become hyperintense. Too strong an exposure can make people lose all control of their fear, anger, lust, etc.* The [[LoveIsInTheAir "Ultimate Perfume"]] crafted by the protagonist in ''Literature/{{Perfume}}'', a deformed man with a [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway heightened sense of smell]]. It's a pheromone [[spoiler:made from the dead bodies of women he's killed,]] capable of seducing anyone. When he finally puts it on, it causes all the random passerby around him [[MoreThanMindControl to love him so much]] that [[spoiler:they tear him apart limb from limb and devour him]].* Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''[[Literature/TowerAndTheHive Talents]]'' are susceptible to a "sting-pzzt" sensation whenever they're near Hivers or anything built by Hivers. Not really harmful, but as it's described as a constant metallic, acidic "smell" (for want of a better term; it's actually a psychic sensation), it tends to make them very irritable.* Creator/StephenDedman's novel ''The Art of Arrow Cutting'' features a mujina (shapeshifting creature from Japanese mythology) whose true face is a blank gray void that causes humans who see it to become mindless vegetables.* A short story called "Hypnoglyph" features a ''tactile'' example; a small carved object that acts on the sensory nerves in such a way that a person who touches it becomes obsessed with holding and stroking it, to the extent that they lose all interest in their surroundings ([[spoiler:at which point they become prey for the alien creators of the objects]]).* In Creator/HenryKuttner's short story "Nothing But Gingerbread Left" a semantics professor develops a German-language ditty so catchy that a person hearing it will be able to do nothing but think about it. Broadcast in occupied Europe, the song drives [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany The Nazis]] so insane, they lose the war.* In ''Literature/MoreInformationThanYouRequire'', anyone who looks at an axolotl (a type of salamander) for too long will become one.* The short story/long sentence "[[http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Fulcrum?mode=reader-light The Fulcrum]]" features the discovery of a ''punctuation mark'' that will destroy your understanding of language, which in turn leaves you incapable of comprehending reality. This was presumably an attempt on the part of the social sciences to dispel the popular notion that it's incapable of creating a world-ending monstrosity in defiance of God's will. Take that, the hard sciences.* In P.C. Hodgell's ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'', the cry of a rathorn (a vicious, carnivorous unicorn-like creature) induces terror in those who hear it. The Kencyr house of Knorth adopted the rathorn as its banner and its cry as their BattleCry; members of the House appear to be immune to the sound.* The ''Literature/{{Ravenor}}'' series of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novels contains the arch-villains quest to learn Enuncia, the language of the gods. A single, out-of-context syllable read aloud causes the speakers mouth to bleed, a nearby servitor's head to explode, and drives another berserk enough to smash its head to itty-bitty little pieces against a stone wall.* In Creator/OrsonScottCard's ''Songmaster'', the protagonist, Ansset, can manipulate people psychologically with his singing. At one time, he causes a sadistic man to disembowel himself by showing the sadist the depth of his own evil through a song.* In ''Wheel of Darkness'', an Literature/AgentPendergast novel, the [[spoiler:Agoyzen is a type of this - the mere sight of it unhinges something in the viewer's brain, making them become a sociopath. Pendergast is one of those who suffers from Agoyzen sociopathy, but he gets better.]]* German sci-fi pulp series ''Literature/PerryRhodan'' has Alaska Saedelaere, a man who had an alien fragment fused to his face in a transporter accident which made everyone go insane and die just from looking at it. He had to wear a mask to disguise it. Being one of the series' main characters who had received cell activators to make them immortal, he had to wear that mask for a very long time. He got better after a couple of centuries, but had his condition [[ResetButton reverted again]].* The short story ''[[http://www.math.yorku.ca/Who/Faculty/Steprans/Courses/3500/Consciousness/mi269-276.txt The Riddle of the Universe and its Solution]]'' by philosopher Christopher Cherniak provides an example where comprehension of a certain fact induces a coma. Often, the last word uttered by a victim is "Aha!".* Some of the magical tricks Garrett keeps up his sleeves in the ''Literature/GarrettPI'' series would qualify, as they impair anyone who's looking at the flashy F/X when he activates them.* In Tad Williams's ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn'' trilogy, we have ''Du Svardenvyrd'', the Wyrd of the Swords. The man who wrote it was insane, and the first person to encounter it immediately committed suicide. Only one other person's response is shown, and he went from being the best and brightest of a circle of wise, learned men to being a wandering thief and alcoholic, unable to commit suicide, but unable to live with what he'd read.* In ''Literature/IntoTheLookingGlass'', one of the results of the creation of the Chen Anomaly is a [[DomedHometown bubble covering Boca Raton]], Florida. Any attempt at recording what's inside the bubble fails, and anyone who sees it goes incurably insane. A technician assisting Weaver's investigation of the anomalies caused by the explosion at the University of Florida suggests the result is like that from a human in the Lovecraft mythos looking upon one of the Old Ones, by seeing something that's completely beyond human comprehension.* In Stephen Tunney's ''One Hundred Percent Lunar Boy'', people with a certain genetic condition have the ability to see the fourth primary color all around them, and this color happens to be in their irises as well. This color does not bother them, but normal people who see the color of their eyes fall into a temporary catatonic state, in which they are extremely suggestible and can have their thoughts manipulated.* Creator/EEDocSmith's ''[[Literature/{{Lensman}} Second Stage Lensmen]]'', features near the end a scene in which the Thralian Prime Minister Fossten is revealed as [[spoiler:an Eddorian]], specifically TheDragon [[spoiler: Gharlane]]. For various reasons, his true form is hidden from [[spoiler:Kim Kinnison]], but everyone else on the enemy flagship's bridge can see it and falls into a paralytic, near-braindead stupor.* In ''Literature/AFireUponTheDeep'', high-protocol networks use supersentient packets. These are dangerous. Reading them can assimilate you into the blight (a fate that may be worse than the death of your entire civilization). After discovering they have been subverted, a security firm offers the following advice:--> If during the last thousand seconds you have received any High-Beyond-protocol packets from "Arbitration Arts," discard them at once. If they have been processed, then the processing site and all locally netted sites must be physically destroyed at once. We realize that this means the destruction of solar systems, but consider the alternative. You are under Transcendent attack.* In ''Literature/TalesOfKolmar'', the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Rakshasa lords]] must have their true names spoken for them to be summoned. Demon summoners are practiced in this and manage, but a non-summoner overhearing is driven to vomit. Late in the series, we see that the sound of the Demonlord's laughter has the same effect.* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Wizard's Sight basically lets you [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm grasp the true form]] of whatever you're looking at. Harry, being the unlucky person that he is, turned it on a skinwalker. He then spent an hour curled up in a ball, whimpering and shaking.-->Try to imagine the stench of rotten meat. Imagine the languid, arrhythmic pulsing of a corpse filled with maggots. Imagine the scent of stale body odor mixed with mildew, the sound of nails screeching across a chalkboard, the taste of rotten milk, and the flavor of spoiled fruit.\\Now imagine that your eyes can experience those things, all at once, in excruciating detail.** Even ''without'' the Sight, looking at [[EldritchAbomination He Who Walks Behind]] was hard enough on sixteen-year-old Harry that he still has psychic scars from it ten years later, and the closest he could get to comprehending His name was a feeling of overwhelmingly powerful malevolence.* ''Fraternity of the Stone'' by David Morrell. The protagonist (a former US govt assassin) thinks he's being set up for this when he's asked to make a phone call at a particular time. He sets up a tape recording of his voice and a pet mouse in a cage, and after making the connection, watches from a distance to see what will happen. When blood suddenly spurts from the mouse's ears, he yanks the tape recorder off the table, causing the men at the other end of the line to think he's been killed.* In Creator/HBeamPiper's story [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19076 "Naudsonce"]], an alien race is discovered that experiences sound as physical sensation. The sound of the water pump set up by a human expedition gets the aliens [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul blissed out]] (a long-term problem, since they live at a subsistence-agriculture level and will starve if they don't work); the sound of one expedition member's voice [[MindRape horrifies and disgusts them]].* In ''{{Literature/Aristoi}}'', Captain Yuan developed a whole range of postures, gestures, words and phrases that he determined, based on his research into kinesics and metalinguistics, had a psychological or even physiological impact on both the individual performing them and anyone observing. Since Yuan's time, the Aristoi have initiated a program to condition all citizens from birth to make them especially sensitive to them, such that, by the time of the novel, a Mudra of Domination can actually physically stagger anyone who beholds it.* ''The Flame Alphabet'' by Ben Marcus is based on this trope. The language of kids is making adults sick [[SarcasmMode and that's not meant metaphorically.]]* And then there was this short story where hearing the unholy word "Älämä" turned everyone into a purple cone. (Author? Title? You probably tried out the word already and don't need them anymore...The German audioplay version was dubbed ''Die violetten Kegel''.)* Lars Bengtsson's novel, ''Literature/TheLongShips'', had an appearance by two Irish jesters/dwarfs who said they were careful to tone down their performance because they'd killed one patron by being so funny that he laughed himself to death. The Viking crew who'd picked them up decided not to tempt the fates/Norns by calling the jesters on their claim.* ''Flash Frame'', a short story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. It's basically a modern-day retelling of ''Literature/TheKingInYellow'' with a good dose of ''TheRing'' thrown in. A reporter for a Mexico City tabloid is on the hunt for a sensational story when he hears about some kind of cult meeting at a local porno theater. So he decides to spy on them. Strangely, all they seem to do is view a few minutes of some faux-Roman exploitation flick that seems a bit... [[UncannyValley off]]. After a few sessions, the reporter starts having nightmares about a [[TheBlank grotesque]] [[HumanoidAbomination seductress]]. And then he realizes his tape recorder has picked up the hidden audio track...--> [[spoiler: The sound was yellow. A bright, noxious yellow.]]--> [[spoiler: Festering yellow. The sound of withered teeth scraping against flesh. Of pustules bursting open. Diseased. Hungry.]]--> [[spoiler: The voice, yellow, speaking to the audience. Telling it things. Asking for things. Yellow limbs and yellow lips, and the yellow maw, the voice that should never have spoken at all.]]--> [[spoiler: The things it asked for.]]--> [[spoiler: Insatiable. Yellow.]]* The creatures in ''Literature/BirdBox'' cause anyone who sees them to go insane. * The people of Darkdawn, a planet in ''Literature/DyingOfTheLight'', built a city in such a way that the wind plays it like a instrument, repeating a depressing symphony over and over. The city had a notably higher-than-average suicide rate, and the music at one point has an hypnotic influence on Dirk.* ''Literature/{{Titanicus}}''. When one of the protaganists gets a closer look at the symbols on a Chaos combat servitor (combat robot made from human parts) she projectile vomits due to their chaotic influence.** The "Scrapcode" utilized by the Chaos forces and their Titans is implied to be dangerous to the augmented Mechanicus forces.* In the "[[Literature/TheDracoTavern Draco Tavern]]" story "The Subject is Closed," a chirpsithra tells of a race who claimed to have learnt the truth about life after death... and promptly committed suicide, all of them. The chirpsithra don't know whether they found that the afterlife was so wonderful that they all wanted to go there, or that Hell exists and they wanted to die before they sinned even worse. The chirpsithras' conclusion is that it's better not to know.* Glyfs (yes, not 'glyphs'), the Warp phenomena encountered by the Gaunt's team in ''[[Literature/GauntsGhosts Traitor General]]'', have a destructive influence on the minds of people watching them. Even the sound they produce while moving is perceived as unsettling.** During the space battle in ''Salvation's Reach'', the Chaos flotilla constantly broadcasts inhuman messages which manage to jam the Imperial communications, destroy some servitors, and cause panic among the crew.* The "noisemaker" bombs used by the Line in ''Literature/TheHalfMadeWorld'' generate a discordant, irregular ''noise'' that destroys the minds of anyone who hears it. Fortunately, its effects diminish quickly with distance.-->It had no pattern; it lurched toward structure and shattered it, crashing on, and on--it had the pulse of dying muscle tissue, spasming, or the last firings of a diseased brain.* The protagonist of the Charles Stross novel ''Glasshouse'' was a veteran of a war against a memetic virus known as "Curious Yellow". Its means of attack was somewhat unusual for a Brown Note. A standard means of transport and communication was the "Assembly Gate", which dismantled people passing through it and reassembled them at their destination; Curious Yellow got itself written into the minds of people using the gates, so bypassing the senses completely. Where it came from, what it did to its victims, or even why it was called Curious Yellow was just some of the information that had to be destroyed in the campaign to extirpate it - virtually the only knowledge that did survive the war was the name and the fact of the war itself.* In ''Literature/{{Kane}}'' story "The Dark Muse", mad poet Opyros creates a poem "Night Winds", which is exactly that. [[spoiler: It drives all listeners insane.]] But then again, this is what you get when you start creating poetry under demonic influence of the said Dark Muse.* In the Literature/{{Boojumverse}}, there are {{Eldritch Abomination}}s called Raths which come from another dimension and induce a migraine headache in anyone who looks at one for more than a couple of seconds. * In the first story of ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' ("Literature/ThePhoenixOnTheSword"), Toth Amon avoids looking at the fiend he summoned. Later, said demon ''destroys'' the soul of a poor victim by forcing him to look at his demonic yellow eyes.* In Creator/CharlesSheffield's "The Lambeth Immortal" (one of his Erasmus Darwin stories), the new owner of a British estate investigates a supposed "Beast" that arises from a flint pit on windy moonlit nights near a centuries-old mill. The Beast turns out to be [[spoiler: an epilepsy-like affliction passed down the estate-owner's family line, that turns them into TheBerserker when they witness the moon shining brightly thorough the mill's vanes, rotating at a fast clip.]]* In ''Literature/TheWarOfTheFlowers'', [[EnigmaticMinion the Remover of Inconvenient Obstacles]] always shrouds himself in shadow when he's using his true form. When he goes out in public, he can turn himself into something slightly more humanoid but that is still so hideous the sight of him can send goblins and trolls running and shrieking in terror. His true form is ''worse''. How much worse? When protagonist Theo gets a brief look at him in bad lighting he's sent reeling, his mind coming up with a variety of squicky metaphors to ''try'' and make sense of what he saw while being unable to do so. What happens if you get a ''good'' look at the Remover? [[spoiler: The last person who did was Erephine Primrose, and she went insane on the spot]]. [[NothingIsScarier Neither of the Remover's forms is ever described in any detail]].* "Birth of a salesman" by Creator/JamesTiptreeJr (reprinted in ''Ten Thousand Light-Years From Home'') is all about how product attributes which are harmless to some Galactic races being dangerous to others (even ''music''), and how this plays all kinds of havoc with interplanetary shipping.* The discord organ in ''Literature/{{Below}}'' is an enchanted pendant ocarina that lays down a lingering spell, turning people against one another. Like all spellbound objects, the magical energy it contains is finite, rendering it useless if it's "played" too many times.* In ''Literature/TerraIgnota'', Mycroft recorded his heartbeat during his crimes, mostly just on a whim. He expected someone would find something scientifically significant in it. Instead, someone turned it into music. Now, whenever he hears the "Canner Beat," he is ripped back to the moment of his crimes, shutting him down as easily as a stun gun.* In "By His Bootstraps" by Creator/RobertAHeinlein, the protagonist gets one brief glimpse of the aliens who ruled Earth in a bygone age, and is so badly shaken by it that he thereafter appears to have aged considerably. * In the Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian story ''Literature/TheFrostGiantsDaughter'', Conan encounters a supernatural being named Attali who inhabits the form of a stunningly beautiful young woman who wears nothing but a whisp of gossimer around her perfect form. Mortal men who look upon her are driven temporarily insane with lust and will pursue her relentlessly, allowing her to lead them into an ambush by her brothers.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Ramsay uses horns as a psychological weapon against his victims. His warhorn, which he loves to use, is a terrifyingly effective psychological weapon against Theon, and a single blast of it is capable of reducing him to a trembling, sobbing wreck within seconds.* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' had a classic Brown Note in the form of the "Funniest Joke Ever Written", so funny that anyone who heard it would die laughing, used to parody documentaries on World War 2 (more specifically, those about the atomic bomb). We could tell you more about it, but instead, why don't you [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gpjk_MaCGM see for yourself?]] (At your own peril.)** The premise is that a British humorist writes a joke so unimaginably funny that anyone who reads or hears it quickly dies from fatal hilarity. The British army then translate the joke word-by-word to German using different translators (some of them fall into a coma after translating more than two words) and use it as a weapon against the Germans in WWII.** [[SchmuckBait And that joke is]]: [[spoiler: "Wenn ist das Nunstruck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!"]] This cannot really be coherently translated given that it involves many nonexistent words, but whatever they're talking about apparently involves both dogs and pinball, [[NoodleImplements and one can only imagine the possibilities of what humor could be made of that]].* ''Series/MythBusters'' tested [[UrbanLegend the myth of the "brown note"]], specifically the version about a musical tone that could cause incontinence. For what it's worth, they found certain low frequencies could rattle your ears and stomach, inducing nausea--but they didn't find any that could loosen your bowels, so they declared it "busted".* The British ''Mythbusters'' knockoff ''Series/BrainiacScienceAbuse'' also "tested" the Brown Note, but they claimed it ''worked.'' On the other hand, Brainiac's unprofessionalism stems not from a preference for showing the two goofiest personalities injuring themselves to showing their scientific scrupulosity, but from their not testing anything more than once and faking results if reality proves less than accommodating. In this case, they stuffed their victim in the porta-john with a speaker; when the test was over, the host (but '''not the camera''') looked into the john and said, "We're going to need a bucket." Take that as you will.* The comedy series ''Upright Citizens Brigade'' featured sketches involving the "Bucket of Truth", a plastic bucket which would supposedly force anyone who looked into it to face some undefined, horrifying truth, driving them to the DespairEventHorizon (and thus lowering the price of a home that included it); the only one immune to its insanity-creating effect was a detective who was already far past the horizon, and his reaction was "Don't you think I know that!?!"* In ''Series/DoctorWho'':** The Master was forced to stare into the time vortex as a child and was driven mad by the sound of drums calling him to war. This sound has been running through his head without a break for close to a millennium now. It preys on him so much that [[spoiler: the last time he died, his last words were "Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming, will it stop?"]]** In ''Fury from the Deep'', [[spoiler:[[DistressedDamsel Victoria Waterfield's screaming]] defeats the weed monster.]]** In "The Time of Angels" we learn that any image or recording of an weeping angel can become an angel. [[spoiler: This goes double if you look an Angel in the eyes...]]** In ''Extremis'' there is the Veritas document that will cause anyone who reads it to kill themselves. [[spoiler: The document is proof that the entire universe the reader is in, including the reader themselves, is nothing but a simulation with nothing real in it. Naturally it isn't the series' main 'verse.]]* {{Blipvert}}s in ''Series/MaxHeadroom'', supercompressed TV commercials that occasionally make YourHeadAsplode.* In ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' episode "Music of the Spheres", the titular music is a signal from space which, in addition to being extremely addictive, ends up causing a series of dramatic physical transformations in listeners. Notably, unlike most examples of the Brown Note, [[spoiler: the changes the music causes ultimately turn out to be beneficial - it transforms humans into a form that is resistant to a high-UV environment, which is what the Earth is about to become due to the sun undergoing a "shift".]]* In ''Series/{{Torchwood}}: Children of Earth'', when the frequency emitted from Jack's grandson [[spoiler:makes the 456 explode in a shower of blood (and then somehow teleport away in their flaming pillar) and also kills Stephen]].* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Is There In Truth No Beauty". Anyone seeing the true form of a Medusan becomes dangerously insane. An example of the [[SurrealHorror surreal]], Series/{{Twilight Zone}}y, SpaceIsMagic philosophy that ''Franchise/StarTrek'' started out with. The old writers didn't feel any need to [[HandWave "explain"]] everything, much less with the same TechnoBabble every week. The Medusans don't emit dangerous radiation or anything, they're just supposed to ''look so weird that you'll lose your mind if you see one.'' (When traveling among [[FiveRaces mundanes]] they hide in little coffins like [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]].) Ironically, despite the madness they induce, the one Medusan we meet is actually pretty friendly and only exposes himself to a guy trying to kill him, and to telepaths, their minds are stated to be some of the most sublime in the galaxy.* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':** The episode "The Game," which features an addictive video game which stimulated the brain's pleasure centers.** Starfleet developed one of these with the intent of using it against the Borg: a computer graphic of a shape that cannot exist in reality. The theory was that it would spread throughout the Collective as they attempted (and failed) to "solve" it. Picard eventually rejected the plan to inject it into the Collective via a disconnected drone, instead deciding to help "Hugh" gain individuality. In the [[ExpandedUniverse relaunch series of novels]], however, he was directly ordered to use it and all other available weapons against the resurgent, now much more dangerous and aggressive Borg.* The short-lived show ''Series/{{Threshold}}'' has this as the central plot, with an alien audio signal rewriting the DNA of people encountering it. In most cases it lead to those people dying horribly, but others became stronger and tougher, [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity and most of all homicidal]].* ''Series/LookAroundYou'':** The Music episode in series one features the ''boîte diabolique'', an extension to the piano keyboard containing the nineteen forbidden notes. These notes cause listeners' ears to bleed upon hearing them. Naturally, the sound in the recording is muted during the demonstration to save the viewers' own ears.** The Food episode of series two featured an image so frightening that it causes users of the Slimby diet shakes to sweat all of the fat out of their bodies. The joke is that this is a huge AntiClimax: after copious warnings about the dangers of looking for too long, [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/lookaroundyou/programmes/food/picture1.shtml the picture itself]] turns out to be [[spoiler:a hilariously tame image of a bear and a model skeleton]].* One episode of ''Series/TheMiddleman'' involves a cursed tuba from the ''Titanic'' that causes anyone who hears it to "drown in the icy waters of the North Atlantic". Including people who are on dry land at the time.* The Green Clarinet sketch from ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' ends with [[spoiler:a put-upon waiter countering the Clarinet's forced-truth effect with a literal Brown Note from a red tuba.]] The clarinet itself may not be a literal example, but it does have the effect of compelling the listener to reveal "an embarrassing truth... that they'll be unable to deny." Call it emotional harm if you must.* In the ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' online comic, a man with [[MakeMeWannaShout sound control]] powers ("[[MeaningfulName Echo DeMille]]") makes use of the Brown Note. As he puts it, instead of killing the men following him, he lays waste to them.* An episode of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' had to do with Elaine going out with a man who would go into near-catatonic states of bliss when he heard the Eagles song "Desperado". Irritated, she tried to get him to make a song "their song", suggesting "Witchy Woman", which he doesn't seem to particularly care for. At the end of the episode, he gets into a car accident, but unfortunately the surgeon goes into a similar state of lapse when he hears, irony of ironies, "Witchy Woman", which is playing on the speakers for some reason. It's implied the man dies as a result.** Kramer's hilarious reaction to Mary Hart's voice. It's apparently TruthInTelevision. See the real life examples.* On the Lockdown episode of ''Series/TheFortyFourHundred'', there was a fairly literal example of a brown note. In the episode, T.J. Kim, one of the 4400, had the ability to send out a frequency that caused extreme violence, paranoia and aggression... however, it only affected men. It was to the point where completely ordinary, even meek men were scrambling to kill anything that moved out of fear it would kill them first.* The painting in the ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' digital short [[http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/digital-short-everyones-a-critic/837241/ "Everyone's a Critic".]]** An early ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch, [[AtTheOperaTonight "Bad Opera"]], featured Dan Ackroyd as an arts presenter introducing the Bad Opera "The Golden Note". In this opera parody, the lead soprano is chosen by the Norse Gods to receive and sing the Golden Note, but the hero knows that the power of that note would kill her if she ever sang it. As Ackroyd's character explains during the performance, the Golden Note is a sustained high C of such tone, volume and length that the soprano singing the note suffers from "larynx lock", making her unable to stop singing that note.* An episode of ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' involved a virus that downloads itself onto computers (and it's [[NumberOfTheBeast 666 megabytes in size]], go figure). Once it successfully downloads, a popup ad appears on the screen called "What's That Noise?" Clicking on it produces a series of seizure-inducing images that place the viewer in a hypnotic state due to audio waves stimulating the brain. The viewer then hallucinates a ghastly hand coming out of the computer screen, and when it touches them, ''[[{{Squick}} their brains melt into liquid due to overstimulation and flow out of every orifice.]]''** A later episode had a frequency broadcast over the radio that completely wiped the memories of everyone who heard it. The backstory alluded to a radio broadcast that existed before the existence of radios. The broadcast itself was composed of a random series of numbers spoken in every different language.*** As it turned out, the radio broadcast gave the [[spoiler: co-ordinates to the pieces of the Machine that could bridge/break/destroy universes. Who built the machine? Walter Bishop did. Then he travelled back in time to a prehistoric age, broke the Machine into pieces, buried them across the world and set up the radio broadcast that led to their eventual discovery. Gnarly. The memory-wiping part was put there by agents from the Alternate Universe to capture the attention of the Fringe Division. It wasn't a part of the original broadcast.]]* An episode of ''Series/TheXFiles'' ("Drive") involved a secret Navy communication device which generated radio waves that supposedly vibrated at a frequency that matched that of a human skull, filling listeners' head with increasing pressure that would blow out of their ears fatally unless the pressure was relieved surgically.* In the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "Hush", the Gentlemen could only be killed by hearing a human voice. In this case though it's non specific, any human voice will do as long as it's a live person and not a recording.* In ''Series/{{Angel}}'' in the demon dimension of Pylea music does not exist. When Lorne, exile from this dimension begins to sing, the locals react with pain and terror, taking it for malevolent sorcery.** Then there was Jasmine. People fell under her mind control just by looking at her face.* ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' TOS "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby". Frisby encounters aliens who are harmed by musical notes from a harmonica.** Another ''Twilight Zone'' example: in the 1980s revival episode "Need to Know", anyone who hears a short phrase that reveals the meaning of life goes insane. * In the first season of ''Series/TrueDetective'', the 'King in Yellow' is a recurring reference point (the King in Yellow is a short story about a play that drives anyone reading it insane - see under Literature, above), invoking this trope as the heroes encounter a series of witnesses who have been driven mad by their encounter with the central mystery of the season. Towards the finale, [[spoiler:the protagonists finally view a videotape that induces violent reactions in anyone who views it, and argue over whether they should even watch it.]] Because True Detective exists in a MaybeMagicMaybeMundane setting, we get the showrunner's literal interpretation of a tape that can drive people mad: [[spoiler:a record of horrible abuse against a child.]]* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete'': The only thing capable of instantly defeating Artie the Strongest Man in the World is the sound of a whammy bar.* In ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', "The Hands of Blue" pursuing Simon and River Tam would kill anyone that got in their way or came in contact with the two fugitives by pulling out a small device that emitted a noise causing anyone to hear it to bleed from, well, everywhere. "The Hands of Blue" were not affected by the device, presumably due to protective body armor under their suits (the blue armor extends to their hands, hence their name).** It's implied that this will not kill River either, so it's probably something the Academy does in the brain.* An episode of ''Series/MastersOfHorror'' titled "Cigarette Burns" revolved around a certain film, ''La Fin absolue du Monde'', all copies of which were thought to have been destroyed after its first screening sparked a homicidal riot amongst the audience. It is revealed at the end that the reason for this is that [[spoiler: ''La Fin absolue du Monde'' was a video of an angel being mutilated, and the evil of that horror affects all who view the film]].* ''Series/TheLostRoom'' featured a number of objects with Brown Note effects, including a pack of cards that would cause the viewer to suffer startling visions, a nail file which induces sleep in anyone who sees light reflected from it and an umbrella which causes people to find the holder familiar.* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' has the painting known only as "the abomination" in the story "Mona Lisa's Revenge". Then somebody tries to animate it.* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' has this as its core trope, in the form of the Intersect, a pattern-recognition and confidential storage computer designed to be installed into human brains through a long, high-speed sequence of seemingly random images. Watching the Intersect installation program run paralyzes you temporarily and makes you nauseous at best, and has been shown to kill people at worst. ** Two unnamed spies had it installed and became almost entirely unfeeling robots, expressing pity to Chuck's predicament after they had it uninstalled. Another subject began [[AGodAmI to think of himself as a god]] and made a FaceHeelTurn, eventually suffering amnesia. [[spoiler: Sarah was another victim of this, losing all memories of her time with Chuck and Casey after the person who was originally supposed to receive the Intersect back in season one kidnapped and showed her flash cards designed to activate the Intersect. Every time he did, she would suffer an intense cluster headache and lose more time.]]* This theme also becomes an important plot point in ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}''. [[spoiler: In the first season, we see an example of a "remote wipe", which removes the imprinted personality of the doll and restores him or her to their doll state. In the second season, Topher develops a device that can wipe anyone you point it at, even normal humans.]]* MTV's ''Series/FurTV'' features an episode where Fat Ed's Heavy Metal band Stinkhole discovers the literal Brown Note. Many innocents shit themselves to death listening to the song.* On ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', seeing Castiel's true face (and presumably the true faces of all other angels) causes one's eyes to burn out of their sockets, as seen in the fourth season premiere, and his true voice causes windows to shatter and ears to bleed. In vessel form, however, they can be heard and seen normally.* ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' contains tons of objects that are capable of this, without even going into the really dangerous things in [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Dark Vault]], like Sylvia Plath's typewriter, which sucks the will to live out of a person just by looking at it. In fact, all of the artifacts in the Dark Vault are activated by some human sense.** Other artifacts include a song that causes a state of euphoric bliss in anyone who hears it, leaving them helpless, a bell that makes people laugh until they asphyxiate, another bell (owned by Ivan Pavlov) that makes a person drool excessively for 24 hours, and Lizzy Borden's Compact, causing whoever looks into the mirror to want to kill the person they love.* On ''Series/TheColbertReport'', due to the massive size of his balls, Stephen has a very, very low speaking voice. So low, in fact, that he is constantly in danger of hitting the brown note, so his doctor gave him a prescription for helium in order to maintain the pitch we normally hear him speaking in.--> "My apologies to Doris Kearns Goodwin."* On ''Series/{{Pixelface}}'', Romford claims to be able to play a tone that will make someone wet themselves.* In ''Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters'', Hiromu's Weakpoint is chickens. Seeing one, or even a picture of one, causes him to stop dead in his tracks, and even hearing the word "chicken" causes his movement to become stunted.* Radio/TonyBlackburn attempts to escape from ''Series/TheSlammer'' by playing a record of his own creation that puts anyone who hears it to sleep.* Parodied on ''Series/{{Community}}'', where Jeff warns the group not to look at Annie when she turns on the PuppyDogEyes. Abed doesn't think they'd work on [[TheSpock him]], until Jeff puts it in terms [[MetaGuy he'd understand]]; ''"She's the [[Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk Ark of the Covenant]]!"''* ''LateNightWithJimmyFallon'' did a sketch, "Joking Bad", which parodied Series/BreakingBad. In it, Jimmy Fallon ends up trading "the purest joke he ever wrote - it'll make you laugh your ass off" - in order to get all of his other jokes back. The guy he gives it to reads it and starts laughing. The camera pans away and the sound of an explosion is heard. The man walks out of the room and turns around to reveal that he has a hole in his pants and [[LiteralMetaphor no ass.]]* In the ''Series/{{Haven}}'' episode "When The Bough Breaks", whenever a member of the Harker family cries, a random person in town hears it and dies. If the person continues to cry, more and more people will be killed. It normally manifests at puberty, so the family keeps it in check by teaching their kids to never cry. Unfortunately, [[BigBad William]] triggers the ability in Aaron Harker, ''a baby''.* ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' featured an episode where an iDoser (a drug dealer {of sorts} who uses special [=MP3s=] that can create hallucinogenic effects when listened) creates a low-frequency sound called "Satan's Jackhammer," which first makes him [[PottyFailure wet and soil]] [[BringMyBrownPants his pants]], then makes his cells pop and his organs suffer catastrophic failure.* ''Series/AdamAdamantLives'': Aside from developing MindControlMusic, the evil sound engineer Carson in "Sing a Song of Danger" is developing a sound bomb that will kill through applied sonics. He attempts to test it on Adam, Georgina and Simms.* ''Series/ISurvivedAZombieApocalypse'': The ZombieApocalypse starts because of a '[[NewMediaAreEvil new Wi-Fi signal]]' that mutates people into the undead.* ''Series/UnhappilyEverAfter'': In "Tiffany's Rival", its revealed that Tiffany was potty-trained to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," and [[PottyEmergency now she has to go to the bathroom whenever she hears it.]] Guess what the AlphaBitch does to her own advantage the next day in the lunchroom?* Humorously parodied in ''Series/TimAndEricAwesomeShowGreatJob'' with the "iJammer," which in-universe MegaCorp Cinco markets as "the first digital music box with two revolutionary dance tones!" Anyone who listens to either of the frequencies from the box--either "iJammer" or "e-Bumper"--suffers from seizures, wildly aggressive behavior, widened eyes, and general addiction. The box also produces an "OOPY DOOPY!" protein paste called "Oh Hungee," which seems designed to hook listeners even more, as they don't need to stop to eat. The kicker? The iJammer is manufactured by Cinco ''Toys''--meaning it's aimed at ''children.''* ''Series/TheMrPotatoHeadShow'': Mr. Potato Head works hard writing a masterpiece script, hoping it will satisfy the [[Main/TyrantTakesTheHelm man]] his [[ScrewedByTheNetwork TV Bosses]] put in charge of his show. He actually writes something that causes anyone who reads it to go bug-eyed and scream "I have gazed into the nameless horror of the void!". Which actually works perfectly in this case.* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'': The initial purpose of the bad-movie "experiments" is to find one bad enough to be weaponized.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]* The music video for the Music/{{Radiohead}} song "Just" begins with a man lying down in the middle of the street and refusing to budge. As people gather, they ask him (all the dialogue being in subtitles) why he's lying there, and after refusing over and over again, he finally caves in. The camera zooms in on his mouth as he's speaking, but with the subtitles suddenly removed, [[TheUnReveal the audience has no idea what he's saying]]. The final scene of the video is of all the people around him lying on the ground in the same posture, his words presumably having had the exact same effect on them as on him.** The closeup has him repeating "God help me, I'll tell you." and it's implied that he's actually saying it during the shot of Radiohead looking out the mirror. * The Music/KateBush song ''Experiment IV'': "But they told us All they wanted Was a sound that Could kill someone from a distance."** And in the video, the scientists deliver; although the sound does not manifest anything like what might have been expected. (The video is also notable these days for featuring the then-virtually-unknown Creator/HughLaurie in a cameo role!)* "The Sermon II", the opening, spoken-word track on The Creepshow's album "Run For Your Life", is about a radio signal that causes a ZombieApocalypse.* Music/{{Hawkwind}}'s song "Sonic Attack" (actually more spoken-word with a few musical undertones) features a public service announcer giving advice on what to do "In case of Sonic Attack on your region," and describing symptoms of "imminent sonic destruction," which include dizziness, vomiting, an ache in the pelvic region, and fits of hysterical shouting or laughter (at which the announcer starts laughing hysterically, revealing that the Sonic Attack has hit ''his'' region).* DYE's "Fantasy" music video ends with [[spoiler: the protagonist seeing an EldritchAbomination so horrible that the mere sight of it made her eyes explode into flame.]]* Music/TheyMightBeGiants:** In [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/expfilm.html "Experimental Film"]] the ending of the titular film supposedly "makes your face implode".** In "Spiralling Shape", the eponymous "hypnotic and strange" shape "will make you go insane", despite which "everyone wants to see that groovy thing". * Music/{{Devo}} performed a live cover of "In Heaven" from ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}'' in 1979, with Mark Mothersbaugh as Booji Boy on vocals. In the middle of the song Booji would give a speech about future "holographic" Devo concerts, which would include the following feature: "And we'll pass out diapers at the door for everyone, so that when you all get in here, we'll turn on the sub-sonic frequencies, and we'll all sh*t our pants together!"* The Lonely Island's "WHEN WILL THE BASS DROP?" (featuring Music/LilJon), a parody of dubstep DJ's, is this in the music video. When the bass finally drops, Lil Jon says "Get turned up to death!" and people immediately start exploding and/or killing themselves.* According to Chromeo's video for "When The Night Falls", their music apparently has the ability to [[ExpressDelivery instantly make women nine months pregnant]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Myths and Religion]]* Some plants are said to have this power:** The root of the mandrake plant looks a bit like a tiny person. Naturally, people were afraid it would scream if cut, then that it would scream if ever dug up, and finally that if anyone heard it scream, they would die. In some cases, [[YourHeadAsplode violently]]. ** They say that Bluebell flowers will make a sound when there is wind. They say that the bells toll your death, after you hear it, you die on the spot.* There's the Irish legend of the harp of Daghda, which could cause pain, laughter, or peace through music.* The Basilisk and/or Cockatrice take this trope to a new level:[[note]]Depending on who you ask, they are either the same monster or two entirely different monsters that always get confused with one-another. If they are different, then they also look different: the Basilisk is either a lowly lizardy thing or a snakelike thing and the Cockatrice is essentially half rooster, half demonic monster.[[/note]]** They are small and can easily hide and sneak about and pop up anywhere, they are [[MadeOfEvil pure evil]], they must come into this world by unnatural means (often by a '''rooster''' laying an egg), and to meet their gaze is to drop dead on the spot. Or to turn into stone. Or they kill/petrify you just by ''looking at them''. Or by touching you or breathing on you. [[WalkingWasteland Or they leave a path of desolation ("creating a desert") wherever they walk]]. Or... it may be easier at this point to say that the ReptilesAreAbhorrent trope is very old, and has much to do with the wildly exaggerated dangerousness of poisonous snakes.** They're so deadly that ''even trying to stab them transmits their Brown Note to you''. As Lucan wrote, "What though the Moor the Basilisk hath slain, and pinned him lifeless to the sandy plain, up through the spear the subtle venom flies; the hand imbibes it, and the victor dies."** There is one definite BrownNote connected to the basilisk legends: the crow of a rooster will kill it.* Greek Mythology** The sight of Medusa and her Gorgon sisters either [[OneHitKill kills you instantly]] or [[TakenForGranite turns you into stone]] depending on what version of the legend you read. In most versions, this power remains with her hideous visage even after she's been beheaded, and it ends up mounted on Athena's shield or breastplate for exactly that reason. Medusa was killed by the hero Perseus who had ([[SupernaturalAid along with various god-given tools]]) a mirrored shield -- not to reflect her gaze back ''VideoGame/NetHack'' style, but to look into, so he could aim his sword to kill her without looking directly at her.** The Sirens are like an auditory version of the Gorgons, as they lure sailors to their death with their song.** Seeing the true form of the Greek Gods was said to have this effect on mortals, with one of the more famous cases being when Semele, a human princess, was tricked by Hera into convincing Zeus to reveal his true form to her since he had been coming to her in the night in disguise. When he finally relented and threw off his disguise she was incinerated instantly. Thankfully her demigod fetus was immortal so Zeus was able to take it and [[MisterSeahorse bring it to term]] in his thigh[[note]]which may have been a euphemism for "ballsack" which makes more sense[[/note]] and eventually gave birth to Dionysus.* The cobra was long believed to be able to hypnotize its prey with its gaze and movements.* The Pied Piper could lure victims anywhere with his music, including to their own certain deaths. Yeah, using it on rats was hailed as a public service, but: he used it on ''children'' when their parents wouldn't pay him as agreed.* There are oodles of urban legends about a house of horrors exhibit which pays you back part of the admission price for every floor of the building's unimaginable contents you clear. The typical version of the legend has it that no one so far has ever fully managed the task, though some people have been found dead of fright on the fifth and final floor. [[http://www.snopes.com/holidays/halloween/haunted.asp According to Snopes]], there is no known evidence for any real life basis for this legend.** The eyes of cemetery statue "Black Aggie" are said to glow bright red in the middle of the night, either blinding or killing anyone who looks into them. ([[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/agnes.asp source]])* Seeing the full glory of [[Literature/TheBible God]] is harmful for mortals; none can see God's face and live. Moses asked to see God's face, and after explaining the aforementioned, God placed him in a crevice and passed over while showing His back to Moses. That was enough to make Moses' face shine when he went down. Saul saw God's light while on his way, and even closing his eyes during the encounter still rendered him blind. On the other hand, the Beautitudes mentioned how the pure of heart are blessed, for they will see God.* The [[TheUndead draugr]] of Icelandic mythology are an interesting example, because though the sight of them is a BrownNote, not everyone responds the same way. Some are "merely" driven mad by them while others scream uncontrollably until they eventually die of exhaustion. Some people aren't effected at all, although the only way to guarantee that is to have HeroicResolve.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]* A very weird example PlayedForLaughs as a RunningGag [[OnceAnEpisode twice per episode]] is from ''Radio/CarTalk''. At the end of every episode or when going to a commercial break half way though, one of the hosts of the show would say "And even though (random person has a humorous negative reaction) every time they hear us say it, this is NPR, National Public Radio."[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':** An article in ''Magazine/{{Dragon}} Magazine'', the late official magazine of the game, described a sage who delved into the study of the Lords of the Nine, the nine arch-devils who rule the Nine Hells of Baator. He went missing; all that turned up of him were a few spots of blood on his floor. It's speculated that either he [[SpeakOfTheDevil attracted the attention of the devils]], who spirited him away; or that that the sheer evil of the tomes he was reading caused him to spontaneously implode. This is also similar to the legend of Faust, who gave rise to the term "[[DealWithTheDevil Faustian bargain]]" and was ultimately found splattered all over the floor... and the walls... and the ceiling.** In ''D&D'', it's possible to place spell traps on objects, which are triggered by looking at, or reading them.*** [[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick "I prepared Explosive Runes this morning."]]*** ''Urban Arcana'' takes this trope to the 21st century, by including rules on how to send spells ''over the Internet''. Be careful next time you open that email attachment...** Bards can charm other creatures using singing and music.*** Waaaaay back in the 1E era, there was a Dragon Magazine article about a high-level bard ability called the "Last Jest". Properly delivered, this joke could make villains laugh themselves to death.** This ability was brought to 3.5 as a Gnome [=PrC=] ability. Took three rounds to finish the target off and the second round had another effect.** There are a number of monsters that can harm with sound: Wolfweres (singing = sleep), androsphinx (roar = deafness), cloaker (moaning), tyrg (howling) and so on. And banshee.** The 9th Level Wizard/Sorcerer spell Wail of the Banshee. Like the actual banshee's power, it was an awful scream that killed anyone who heard it while too close to the caster.** Up to the 3rd Edition, nymphs were so beautiful, looking at one could blind or even kill humans. As a rule, looking at a clothed nymph could blind you, while looking at a nude nymph could kill you. In the 3rd Edition, clothing didn't matter, they could focus their beauty as a sort of overwhelming aura (though it only stunned you rather than killing you), and in the 4th Edition, they could not harm humans with their beauty at all. ([[FemmeFatale Seduction and trickery, on the other hand...]])** Many magical musical instruments can affect targets as well, such as a satyr's pipes.** There are a plethora of spells which create harmful sounds as well.** Also colours: Colour Spray, Prismatic Wall, etc.** Anyone who sees the true face of Pale Night, the Obyrith precursor of Tanar'ri (Elaborated upon below)*** The Obyriths in 3.5 are a species of demons modeled universally on [[EldritchAbomination Lovecraftian concepts]]: to look on them is to invite madness and insane terror, even in those otherwise magically immune to such emotions. Dagon evokes terror of the sea, Ugudenk the Squirming King causes any viewer to realize he can burst from the ground at any time and thus to be terrified of the ''ground'', etc. The most powerful of the Obyriths was supposed to be Obox-Ob, the first of the species who has a shape that could be very roughly analogued to something like a titanic scorpion, but with the head and tails (yes, plural) switched around, and horrible tentacle-tongues and worse. But the deadliest of the Obyriths, insomuch as their ability to cause madness, is Pale Night. She takes the shape of a softly curvaceous humanoid female, wrapped in a billowing shroud. Attempting to pull the shroud aside and see her true form is difficult, but if you do manage it, you must immediately make a saving throw. Success means you ''failed'' to understand what you saw beyond the veil. Failure means you ''understand'' what you see: a shape so alien, horrifically indescribable and anathematic to all existence that you are instantly slain. What's more, if a victim of this effect is brought back to life or magic is used to communicate with his spirit, he is unable to describe what he saw. As it happens, the shroud is something ''reality itself'' imposes on her to cloak her true shape as a way of protecting ''the rest of existence''. Even the Far Realm, home to true Lovecraftian horrors in the D&D mythos, is not as innately lethal to witness (though entering it can do [[AndIMustScream worse than just kill you...]] )*** And the Devils have their own example, from second edition up to 3.5 in the form of Asmodeus and the tale of the Serpent's Coil. Supposedly, the Asmodeus all creatures understand to exist isn't the real thing, but rather a highly advanced illusion, or an avatar. The King of Hell's true form was hurled down into Hell from the Celestial Realms long ago. Asmodeus' impact into Baator is what split the plane into nine layers. Asmodeus' true body came to rest in a tunnel of rock hundreds of miles long created by his landing, called The Serpent's Coil. And it rests there still, slowly recovering its strength. Hearing this story didn't harm the listener at all, but anyone who told the tale of Asmodeus' "True Form" died within 24 hours. '''Anyone'''.** Cyric of the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' created a tome called the Cyrinishad that would brainwash anyone who read it into being a devoted worshipper of Cyric. Things got bad when he [[StupidEvil accidentally read it himself.]] As a result he became even ''crazier'' and came to believe his own hype. He eventually got better.** The Book of Vile Darkness sourcebook (3/3.5 material) introduced "Dark Speech", a language so evil that hearing a single word spoken in it can potentially drive people away screaming in terror, as it's simply that awful. (Trying to ''speak'' even a single word of it without the proper training is lethal, and only evil entities like Archdevils can manage more than a short phrase.)** Demon Lords qualify. The Fifth Edition core rulebooks include a set of optional Madness mechanics for horror themed campaigns. There are three stages of madness, that is, short term, long term, and indefinite. Then the ''Out Of The Abyss'' campaign came out, and each Demon Lord listed can ignore those rules, sending you straight to Indefinite Madness if you so much as look directly at them. Demogorgon can cause a character to develop a second personality or solve all of their problems with murder, among other things. Yeenoghu, among other things, can give a character a taste for the flesh of intelligent beings. Orcus can make someone take pleasure in the suffering of the weak, want to become undead, or develop an unhealthy fascination with death. And all of this can happen just by looking at a demon lord.* Symbols of Chaos in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' are capable of making men nauseous at best to insane at worst, and that's saying nothing of actually gazing upon daemons.** This a rather favorite tactic of Chaos. There was an old story about the forces of Chaos capturing a Janitor or somesuch, and then returning him back home... after telling him a word. Cue the inquisition purging the planet continuously for ''a thousand years,'' before finally resorting to Exterminatus.*** In addition the Imperium have their own Brown Note in the form of the Culexus Assassin. These rare mutants are like psychic black holes, whose bizarre ''non''-presence seriously puts the wind up anyone (including their own allies) within a few feet.** There's a good example of this in the Literature/CiaphasCain novel Traitor's Hand, in which Cain witnesses an Imperial Guard trooper bleed from the eyes after staring at the symbols on the walls of a shrine to Slaanesh.** And the worshippers of Slaanesh in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' have a word that, when whispered into your ear, ''can kill you''.** Speaking of Slaanesh, any mortal who looks directly at his true form will ''instantly lose their soul'' and [[MoreThanMindControl willingly become his slave for all eternity]].** Anything involving Slaanesh would result in this. His champion, Lucius, has a set of armor that [[InvoluntaryTransformation turns you]] [[BodySnatcher INTO him]] if you kill him and feel even the slightest sense of accomplishment. Then there's also the ability to [[{{Glamour}} make yourself so irresistable]] that the enemy will lose the will to shoot at you.** The Jabberslythe unit for ''Warhammer'' Beastmen is apparently so hideous it drives enemy units insane. Understandably, it's the only unit without a picture in its entry.* ''TabletopGame/{{Earthdawn}}''. Simply reading about the Horrors can cause psychological problems and attract their attention upon the reader.* ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu''. Reading Cthulhu Mythos books or seeing Mythos monsters can cause a loss of sanity and eventual insanity.** In ''TabletopGame/DeltaGreen'', a certain document contains a "formula" that, to an average person, appears to be nothing more than a random sequence of numbers. However, a character whose skill in math is good enough will instantly recognize it as a "formula" that proves that there are higher dimensions of existence... and will then ''immediately'' AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence by ''just thinking about it''.* It's quite possible for Malkavians with high Dementation and Auspex in TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade to booby-trap books, paintings or songs with their discipline's powers. It's even possible to modify your aura in that way, to punish curious Auspex users.** And the Daughters of Cacophony have many ways to screw you over with their singing.*** More specifically, the Daughters of Cacophony are a vampire bloodline that specializes in madness inducing sounds. They select good singers, but the vampiric magic makes it dangerous.* In ''TabletopGame/SeventhSea'', there is a red jewel known as "Legion's Spike". While not everyone has been affected by it, some unfortunate cases who have stared into its depths have suffered from catatonia, madness and homicidal rampages. And there's apparently more than one such gem.* In ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' the Terror advantage (caused by whatever aspect of yourself you wish) can terrify victims beyond all reason. At its worst Terror can cause permanent insanity and actually make someone so horrified by the effect that he becomes stupider.** ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}: Ultra-Tech'' has a more literal brown note. Sonic nauseators make people void their bowels as side effect of knocking them out. Just don't mix one up with a Sonic Screamer, which produces a sound that ''melts'' the target.* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' had the Flash Pak, a device that fired light bulbs in a random stroboscopic sequence that caused disorientation in anyone who viewed it. Similarly ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk2020}}'' has a ''funny'' option for cyberarms that can cause the same effect plus seizures.* Witnessing mad science in ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'' can turn a normal person into [[TheIgor a Beholden]] or a full-fledged [[MadScientist Genius]]. One of the reasons for TheMasquerade is because, well, [[PerpetualPoverty otherwise that's just more labs to feed]].** And, naturally, there's rules for building Brown Notes ranging from "blinding flash of light" to "self-aware infectious meme".* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'''s joke set Unhinged has a card called [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=74246 Stone-Cold Basilisk]] that can temporarily turn players to stone. The ability is triggered by ''reading the card''.* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' features a spell called Rune of Singular Hate. It's described as a single word full of such vile and complete hatred that, when uttered at someone, curses them to debility at best, and outright death at worst. It's such a powerful word that it even affects the caster in a similar way, and can only be cast once in a lifetime.** Similarly, the Deathlord known as the Bishop of the Chalcedony Thurible is working on a mammoth collection of books about the theology of death. Some are used as holy books for ancestor cults, some are gibberish he keeps in his own personal library... and some describe Oblivion so seductively the reader goes insane.*** And when it comes to [[TomeOfEldritchLore damnable books]] in Creation, there's none better than ''The Broken-Winged Crane'', which often instills madness in those who read it and compels them to try demon summoning and Yozi worship for fun and profit.** In other Deathlord wonkiness, there's the Monstrance of Celestial Portion, the cages used by the Deathlords to put Solar Exaltations through the spin cycle of evil so they come out as Abyssal shards. Solars can't even look at the Monstrances without feeling violently ill.** There is also the Yozi called She Who Lives In Her Name - her true name traps lesser beings into endlessly repeating it should they ever hear more than a few words of it.* ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'' has the Whateley family [[strike:tree]] shrub. ''Looking'' at it is more than enough to drive someone insane. Then there's what the Whateleys are actually doing...* ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'':** There is a weaponized brown note, in the form of "basilisk hacks", combinations of sensory input which essentially crash the human brain. Also, [[spoiler:low exposures only cause seizures, but longer doses can cause [[TheCorruption Exurgent infection]].]]** Pandora gates are noted to be odd enough that they hurt your head and cause some [[PsychicPowers asyncs]] to wig out. Most of the solar system bases that contain gates keep them covered at all times... just to be on the safe side.* In the ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' tabletop RPG, Eredun, the language of demons, is said to be inherently evil and has a will of its own; it slowly rots the brain of any nondemon who speaks it, driving them mad and corrupting them towards evil. It's one of the reasons that warlock magic is considered so taboo, as it's required for the casting of spells.* Second and Third Edition ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'' both have flavour text describing a book on the true nature of beauty. Because the book is a sacrosant object not meant for mortals, it kills the first to read any word within. The vignette wraps up with "It is a statement on the nature of beauty, and the nature of scholars, that [...] over half of its text had been read, understood, and transcribed."** Any picture of Ananda, Lord of Murder, the Infinite, and the Fourth Age, induces physical and/or psychological damage in those who see it, due to his incredible beauty. Actually seeing him in the flesh is worse.* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'' deals with vastly alien concepts that can confuse and bewilder mortal minds, but that's just from trying to grasp extraordinarily complex ideas. ''Intruders: Encounters with the Abyss'' suggests that [[EldritchAbomination Abyssal intrusions]] can take forms such as a poem or work of art. Banishing such intrusions is extremely difficult when merely perceiving them is deleterious.** A specific example from ''Intruders'' is Dark Angel Aphasia. At first it manifests as a strange obsession with the works of others with the condition. Then the sufferer begins to lose the ability to communicate in either speech or writing, but continues to obsess over whatever concept has caught their fancy. Eventually they become completely incapable of using language, and not long after that they either go comatose, instantly recover with no memory of what they were talking about, or ''disappear''. And how does this condition spread? By reading something a sufferer wrote or talking to them before they lose the ability to communicate.* In ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'', any attack can be made into one of these by adding the Sense-Dependent flaw.* ''Varanae'' generic RPG supplement ''Monstrum 1''** The Garmen is an undead dog-spirit whose howls cause fear in all unintelligent animals, possibly causing them to flee.** The Sandmyrk is a small dog/rat hybrid. A pack of them can surround victims and begin a horrible howling that causes chilling fear in their targets, The terror is so great that animals will flee in panic and intelligent creatures have a good chance of doing the same. Even if a victim manages to resist the effect they are still severely penalized while fighting the Sandmyrks.* ''Arduin'' RPG, ''The Compleat Arduin Book 2: Resources''** The Hell Cat's bone-rattling caterwauling causes intense fear in all creatures within 60 feet.** The Sun Demon's movement causes a squealing and groaning like tortured metal that inflicts a -5 penalty of the combat abilities of all creatures within 30 feet.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Toys]]* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' has several:** Tren Krom and [[spoiler:Anonna]], {{Eldritch Abomination}}s that can potentially drive people who see them insane.** The Klakk's scream, which can cure Shadow Matoran of their corruption.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': Any sonic-based attack counts as this. The most potent of these would be Perish Song, a song that will make all listeners [[NonLethalKO faint]] in three turns if they don't switch or have an immunity to sound attacks.** The Pokémon Mimikyu cover themselves in rags designed to look like [[SeriesMascot Pikachu]] because their true form is so terrifying people and Pokémon can die just from looking at it, but they generally [[IJustWantToHaveFriends want to make friends despite this]].* Demonica in ''VideoGame/StretchPanic'', a horror movie fanatic who was mystically transformed into a monster so horrifying that seeing her is fatal.* A ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aJjMOy-Ops Rickroll mod]] features a boombox playing "Never Gonna Give You Up" that is deadly to enemies (it is actually a [=DeHackEd=]-patched executable that replaces the chainsaw sprite, and vastly increases its range and damage).* The Winter Windster in ''VideoGame/WarioWorld'' has an attack where its eyes turn red. The only way to avoid it is to keep Wario facing away from it while it flies around you. Fail to do so and it flies into Wario's mouth and inflates him like a balloon, then proceeds to hover him toward the [[SpikesOfDoom spikes]].* The Creator/{{Infocom}} InteractiveFiction game ''VideoGame/HollywoodHijinx'' features an unfinished film called ''A Corpse Line''; the reason it's unfinished is that it's so horrific, anyone who watches it, even its creator, dies of a massive heart attack.* ''VideoGame/Condemned2Bloodshot'' makes use of this. In fact, it's the main plot point of the whole series -- [[spoiler:the conspiracy responsible for the homeless population of the City going insane relies on sounds that, when heard/felt, have effects ranging from minor cranial hemorrhaging, causing omnicidal psychosis which just happens to coincide with protecting the conspiracy -- and did I mention they're only omnicidal to people who are not Influenced? -- to causing heads to explode -- for emitters and your average conspirator, just birds, while the main character can generate sounds that explode human heads.]]* In one of the first {{Visual Novel}}s, ''Shizuku'', people in a certain Japanese city were driven insane by "doku denpa", "poisonous radio waves". Because of the game's popularity, the word "denpa" entered the otaku lexicon, and is now used to refer to a particular genre of {{Moe}} electro-pop songs. The connection to the game - and to this trope - is fairly obvious to anyone who's actually ''heard'' one of those songs.* Mystia Lorelei from the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' series has an unusual variation on this trope: her singing can cause ''night-blindness''.* In ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'', reading all five of the victim's memoirs will have you performing whatever acts the person who wrote them did. Yoshiki will cannibalize Ayumi if you read all five, and Satoshi can be forced into a lobotomized state.* The game ''VideoGame/{{Rez}}'' was purposefully designed to confuse the player's neural processing of sensory input.* The (possibly) fictional game ''{{VideoGame/Polybius}}'' is attributed with the power to mess up the brain causing amnesia, nightmares and death.* This is the implied way Harps kill in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' -- in the earlier versions, visible music notes stream towards the enemy and cause damage.** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', ''books'' cause damage by the user ''reading'' from it. (Or you could [[ThrowTheBookAtThem Throw]] it via the Ninja class.)** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', the boss Angra Mainyu has a death stare attack that can only be avoided by [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou pointing the camera away from it]] so the ''player'' can't see the boss fire it off.* In ''VideoGame/{{Loom}}'', the BigBad mentions a legend that says that anyone who looks under the hood of a member of the Weaver's Guild will die instantly. The main character (a Weaver himself) is uncertain as to the veracity of this legend, but late in the game, one of the BigBad's henchmen succumbs to curiosity...** Playing the game in hard mode lets the player actually see this happening. In any other mode, [[TakeOurWordForIt the game cuts away to another scene for a few seconds]], then back to the main character, who is now mysteriously alone and completely unscathed.** In fact, the basic premise of most of this game could be considered a Brown Note. Singing or playing certain sequences of notes (called "drafts") can have a wide variety of effects on reality, from the innocuous (Dyeing) to the beneficial (Healing) to the horrific (Unmaking).* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', Tear's Fonic Hymns are songs that have a myriad of effects, ranging from putting everyone that hears it to sleep (Nightmare) to a mass healer (Revitalize) to summoning [[FrickinLaserBeams beams of]] [[KillItWithFire firey death]] (Judgment).** It's also implied that all magic in that game is some sound- "Oh Admonishing Melody,...".** The seventh fonon which allows fonist such as Tear to use healing spells is the fonon for sound and can cause healing, most magic and a hyperresonance which can teleport people into new locations and destroy countries.** Similarly, in the ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' OVA, Colette begins singing some creepy song that kills an army of {{Mooks}} in the second episode. (Given it knocks her unconscious its likely her spell, "[[AwesomeButImpractical Sacrifice]]".)* ''VideoGame/{{Ys}} I and II'' has a corridor in Darm Tower where [[OminousPipeOrgan evil organ music]] is played that damages Adol. You must break the pillar on the balcony that is piping in the music to advance.** The Devil's Corridor is also an obstacle in Ys Origin. Each player character must nullify the music with a character-specific method in order to proceed.* The ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' series has a lot of these. Examples include [[spoiler: singing Giegue into submission]] in the first game, Frank saying something nasty in the second, or Lucky's bass in ''Mother 3''.* At one point in ''VideoGame/ForumWarz'', you're hit by a Brown Note through your speakers which causes you to shit yourself into unconsciousness, although [[spoiler: the intended effect was death]]. Later on in Episode 3, you get the chance to beat down the rogue hacker/Light Yagami wannabe who used it on you and return the favor, giving you the powerful Manga/DeathNote attack.* ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'' has the Ultimate Joke (apparently about the wizard and the farmer's daughter, that John Rhys-Davies calls "a killer"). Telling it will make anyone laugh, no matter the situation. It's just that funny. The catch is that you can only use it once, under the principle that a joke is less funny the more often you hear it. You use it [[spoiler: against Ad Avis in the final battle, to distract him long enough to prepare and unleash your killing blow.]]* [[spoiler: Zelenin's Hymn]] in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey]]''.* In ''VideoGame/StarControlII'', learning too much about other dimensions draws the attention of some rather nasty [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]].* The Correspondence -- a mysterious ancient alphabet whose purpose nobody knows for sure[[note]]And you hear of it long before you find out it's an alphabet at all; it's mentioned in the sidebars [[ShroudedInMyth with various wild stories attributed to it]][[/note]] -- in ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'' can drive you insane, or even cause your eyes to bleed or your hair to catch fire. And putting any more than six of its "letters" in a single object will quickly teach you that even lead can burn. And you can play around with it in the most unsafe manner, even making Correspondence ''symphonies''. ** ''Videogame/SunlessSea'', in the same universe, proves it can only get worse: When wielded by creatures that can actually speak it (like [[DemonicSpiders Lorn-Flukes]] and [[spoiler:[[BonusBoss Mt. Nomad]]]]), it can ''sink battleships''. There's also Irrigo, a color that resembles a particularly intense violet, that basically destroys your memories with prolonged exposure. [[spoiler:Places with enough Irrigo will cause the body to [[BodyHorror grow bone over its eye sockets]] to blind the person as a desperate safety measure]]. While the Neath has [[FictionalColour another six exclusive colors]], some even holding their own strange properties, only Irrigo is this dangerous. And finally, there's the simpler writings that simply strike blows into your sanity, give you terrible nightmares and make people start screaming and clawing at their eyes. Pretty normal stuff in London, considering people tend to put these in their ''graffiti'', to the point the police department needs to carry large carts full of acid to clean it up.** While it's fine for humans, "Pop Goes the Weasel" tends to cause weasels to explode quite spectacularly.* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', when Link reaches the source of the river in Ikana Valley, he is attacked by a ghost who plays an evil melody that drains his hearts.** When the aforementioned river starts flowing again, it activates the nearby Music Box House that scares away the surrounding undead by playing ''carnival music.''* Near the entrance of the BonusDungeon of ''Videogame/BaldursGate'' is an idle skeleton. Your tour guide explains that there was once an enchanted picture on one of the walls that caused whomever looked at it to continue gazing at for all time. That skeleton was one of its victims.* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''** The eponymous [[TomeOfEldritchLore Elder]] [[TomesOfProphecyAndFate Scrolls]] can have a number of such effects on the reader. To an untrained reader, the contents of the Scrolls appear to be inert and incomprehensible symbols that vaguely resemble constellations. The "unguarded intellects," those who know what the Scrolls are and have some ability to read them, are immediately and irrevocably struck blind. Only those initiated into the mysteries of the Cult of the Ancestor Moth retain most of their sight after reading a Scroll and seeing the future. Unfortunately, there comes a day when even an Ancestor Moth cultist reads a Scroll for the last time, forcing them into retirement. In all cases, those who read, handle, or even merely ''study'' the Scrolls without ever actually using them have a tendency to [[GoMadFromTheRevelation go utterly insane]] with alarming regularity. The [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] built a machine to read the Scrolls and record its results, circumventing the nasty side effects, which is the target of a quest in ''Skyrim''.** The series' [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]] are [[TheAgeless ageless]], possessing [[DragonsAreDivine divine]] [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Aedric]] souls, and have a form of ResurrectiveImmortality. They are said to "[[TimeAbyss have always been]]" and have no concept of life, death, or mortality. When mankind in ancient times was under threat from the dragons and their leader, [[BeastOfTheApocalypse Alduin]], they prayed to the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Divines]] for aid, and their prayers were answered by being taught to use the [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um]], the dragon's own LanguageOfMagic, against them. The mortals created their own Shout, Dragonrend, using the words JOOR (Mortal), ZAH (Finite), and FRUL (Temporary), all concepts which are [[EldritchAbomination inconceivable to dragons]]. In essence, it is a Brown Note that is ineffective against mere mortals, but causes dragons to be temporarily incapacitated with confusion. In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', Alduin returns and begins [[RiseFromYourGrave resurrecting]] the dragons. The [[PlayerCharacter Dragonborn]] must find a way to defeat Alduin and rediscovers the Dragonrend shout. The [[OldMaster Graybeards]] warn the Dragonborn against learning Dragonrend because it was a weapon forged by [[FantasticRacism hatred and fury]] directed at dragonkind. According to them, to learn a Word of Power is to take everything about it into your soul. [[spoiler:Since their leader is a friendly dragon, the Graybeards understandably don't want anything to do with a Shout created by hatred directed at dragons]]. Some other Dragonshouts qualify as well, such as "[[YourSoulIsMine RII VAAZ ZOL]]" and "[[MindManipulation GOL HA DOV]]."* In ''VideoGame/{{Exile}} III: Ruined World'', the dragon Khoth has a book of puzzles so complicated that reading them will cause the [=PCs=] to become dumbfounded.* In ''FatalFrame II: Crimson Butterfly'': The horror of looking into the Hellish Abyss causes the viewer to become blind. [[spoiler: This happens to Mio in the 'Hellish Abyss' ending, as she looks down while trying to pull Mayu up. The kicker? That's the ''good'' ending (in the original version of the game, anyway).]]* In ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVII'', the player character dies if she looks at the undead Lady Tsepish's NightmareFace.* In ''Videogame/{{Anchorhead}}'', continuing to read the TomeOfEldritchLore in the church leads to a NonStandardGameover where [[spoiler:the protagonist [[GoMadFromTheRevelation goes insane]], [[DissonantSerenity calmly smiling]] as she [[EyeScream claws her eyes out]]]].* In ''Franchise/MassEffect'', this is why only strong willed individuals such as Shepard are able to withstand experiencing [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As0F9Bq2kGk the Prothean Beacon]] and keep their sanity, as the sheer intensity of the vision has the potential to "destroy a lesser mind".** By ''Videogame/MassEffect3'', Indoctrination is believed to at least partly be a result of this, with infrasonic sound being used to render people vulnerable to suggestion. Additionally, the [[AllThereInTheManual background material]] suggests that the Reaper Horn, the loud blaring sound produced by Reaper Destroyers and Dreadnoughts, is intended to induce panic in enemy forces by similar means. Developer commentary states that the sound engineers put quite [[ShownTheirWork a lot of research]] into what type of sounds instinctively frighten human beings, and combined them to make the Reaper Horn.* The TomesOfEldritchLore in the original ''Videogame/AloneInTheDark1992'' will either weaken Carnby (Fragments from the Book of Abdul) or kill him dead (De Vermis Mysteriis) upon reading unless he is standing on the pentagram in the room where you find them.* The titular composition in ''Maestro: Music of Death'' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin kills anyone who hears it.]]* The first ''Videogame/BreathOfFireI'' game gives the D.Hrt, which is a song that reduces the HP of any dragon who hears it to 1. It will immediately waste Zog [[spoiler: or Sara]], and bring the main character's HP down too since he's also a dragon.* The [[PaletteSwap advanced forms]] of the Trumpy viruses in the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' series can induce status effects like confusion and blindness or immobilize you while they play their music. They can be summoned to mess up your opponents should you obtain their corresponding battle chips.* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' is an unfortunate combination of a very loud singer and a horrifically bad singer. For these reasons, the microphone copy power (as well as the mike item from the first game) instantly wipes out all non-boss enemies on the screen.* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', Vault 92's experiment involved MindControl via subliminal messages in white noise, which ultimately drove the inhabitants insane.** The mesmertron is a weaponized brown note which either drives someone into a homocidal rage, killing allies and enemies alike, causes their head to explode or makes them completely docile and obey any command given to them by anyone. This last one makes it the weapon you get when enslaving people.* One of Eddie's solos in ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' is called "Face Melter," which causes massive damage to nearby enemies; killing basic infantry shows you the literal effect of a face-melting guitar solo.* ''VideoGame/LostEden'' has the Instruments of Fear. Despite appearing to be nothing more than a trumpet, a drum, and a bell, [[spoiler: they produce a noise which forces the [[TyrannosaurusRex Tyranns]] to flee when played by the right male party members.]]* In ''Videogame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'', one of Jimmy the Bard's abilities is to play the Brown Note. If done successfully, he can make the enemies shit blood.* In ''Cadenza: Music, Betrayal and Death'' the villain's sax playing paralyzes anyone who hears it.* In ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 8'', [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Sun Jian's]] new weapon, the [[CoolSword Nine Rings Blade]], releases loud, powerful soundwaves from its' rings that destroy surrounding enemies.* Turns out that [[spoiler: the [[MagicMusic songs of the Intoners]]]] in ''{{VideoGame/Drakengard 3}}'' work this way. They can lead to anything from [[AxeCrazy insanity]] to straight up BodyHorror. It gets worse [[spoiler: if one can no longer hear them]].* The Dreambeats of ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'', which can put anyone who isn't a Pi'illo, Star Sprite, or Nightmare Bat to sleep. Bowser defends himself against them by covering his ears, though no reason is given as to why Mario and Luigi don't do the same.* The Literature in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' causes the dwellers of Mikado to GoMadFromTheRevelation that there exists lifestyles other than what exists in Mikado; Casualries (i.e. the working class) in particular develop a sense of resentment against the privileges and advantages that Luxurors (i.e. the upper class) have over Casualries. [[spoiler:The madness is so horrific that it results in readers ''transforming into bloodthirsty demons''. And it's not even any sort of supernatural literature; it's ''ordinary, modern-day human literature.'' The shock that the people of Mikado get from reading it is ''that bad.'']]* In ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'', Overseer Music Boxes [[PowerNullifier prevent Corvo from using magic]] in their vicinity, as well as inflicting damage themselves with their sound waves.* The Killer Wail superweapon in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' emits an ultrasonic wave when used; this wave will scatter the atoms of any Inkling who happens to be in front of it. [[note]]It is possible to survive it, but you have about a frame's worth of time to get out, so you have to be at the very edge.[[/note]] [[spoiler:DJ Octavio uses it relatively early in the fight with him; it's no less powerful.]]* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpRJVLHnNc8 basilisk bug]] from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' let you do this to your teammates (and enemy spies).* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' concludes the series with a superweapon designed to [[spoiler:turn common languages]] into Brown Notes. [[spoiler:And the BigBad Skull Face designed one for English]].* Lady Shiori in ''VideoGame/{{Sinjid}}'' has a paralyzing stare that does tremendous damage and immobilizes you if you happen to be looking in her direction. The paralysation and most of the damage can be negated by looking away from her, but you'll still take damage from it either way.* ''Videogame/DiscworldII'' has an unusual example where this is caused by attractiveness: examining the [[TheFairFolk Elf Queen]] leaves Rincewind paralysed for hours. The consequences are fairly mild as this trope goes; the worst thing that happens is that he ends up getting thrown out of the Elves' dimension and having to get back in.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' has Ea acting as this for Shirou. On seeing it he instinctively attempts to use [[AwesomenessByAnalysis Structural Grasp]] on it, but due to its [[ForgedByTheGods divine origins and composition]] his mind overloads and he temporarily loses all senses. However, Shirou can apply Structural Grasp to plenty of other objects that were "merely" made by gods; Ea, however, was forged from the unlivable hell that was the earliest days of the earth and predates the very concept of "Sword" -- it can only be called a sword because the world has no term for what Ea is other than "Ea". And in a setting where age=power...* The titular Saya in ''VisualNovel/SayaNoUta'' has this effect on most people who see her. Fuminori, who perceives her as a [[WomanInWhite Girl in White]] because of his extreme (and possibly supernaturally influenced) agnosia is the only exception.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]* In the world of ''WebAnimation/TheDementedCartoonMovie'', saying the word "Blah" sometimes causes your head to pop off of your neck, although the exact rules regarding this are inconsistent. Saying or producing a recording of the word "Zeekyboogydoog" causes a nuclear explosion at the location the sound originated from. Saying the word "Gleegsnagzip" causes [[EarthShatteringKaboom the entire planet to explode]]. And saying "Kamikaze Watermelon" cues a visit from Fooby, the Kamikaze Watermelon.** "(Fanfare plays) Wheeee! (splat)"* In WebAnimation/YouTubePoop, an OffModel picture of [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi]], nicknamed "Weegee", has gradually developed this power. Anyone who looks at him for too long [[TheVirus will become him]]. It's been used as a metaphor for how {{meme}}s spread.* According to the ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' cartoon "Fall Float Parade", Strong Sad goes into an unexplained trance whenever he hears the phrase "covered bridges". At least until Strong Bad starts hitting him with nunchucks.** In this same series, there's the Creepy Painting Strong Mad keeps in his closet, which depicts a gargoyle-like creature named Rocoulm who says "Come on in here!" and causes anyone who sees the painting to get "the jibblies."** And apparently, a drawing of a one-legged puppy nicknamed "Li'l Brudder" can make Homestar break down in tears.--> '''Homestar:''' Li'l Brudder! I... I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING WITH MY LIFE! I'm thinking of getting into male modeling... or maybe high finance... I JUST DON'T KNOW!!* In ''WebAnimation/DickFigures'' Red finds an adorable Kitten he dubs "Kitty Amazing" (because that's what he is). The kitten is so adorable it ''melts'' the hearts of all who look at it... Blue recently had eye surgery so he is spared, but no explanation is given for why Red is immune.* In the VideoGame/GarrysMod video "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqSbreR8a0I Scout's Amazing Adventures (Part 3/6)]]", [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 Heavy]] starts playing "Music/{{Friday}}", which is so awful that it sends Soldier into a series of contortions until he eventually explodes.** Downloadable [=GMod=] weapon "Erectin' a Boom" is a radio that ignites anyone who hears it, and then their head explodes shortly after.** Similarly, a mod for ''VideoGame/Doom2'' replaces the chainsaw with a radio that, when played, {{rickroll}}s enemies. The enemies' sprites have even been altered so that they cover their ears.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]* For a one-shot gag in ''Webcomic/SamAndFuzzy'', [[http://samandfuzzy.com/archive.php?comicID=597 here]], Fuzzy creates a Brown Note video to psychologically break Sid, another character. It might have worked if Sid hadn't run away.* In ''Webcomic/MegaTokyo'', the ''Necrowombicon'' was probably a Brown Note, because Largo's life can be divided in two. Before reading it, he was just a superconfident, super-spirited hardcore gamer; after reading it, he became obsessed with zombie rampages, though that Miho was the [="3V1|_ Z0MB13 QU33N"=], and suddenly started seeing the world through the glasses of {{B Movie}}s, shooter games and online [=RPGs=]. But if we consider that Largo is also a big {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, it might as well have been caused by something else.** This happened about the time the authors were transitioning from a loosely connected series of jokes to a more comprehensive narrative, so the clichés Largo was built on were ramped up overnight to Cloudcuckoolander status to help lead into his plot arcs. It's later mentioned that he's always been this way. In addition, [[AuthorAvatar the "other" Largo]] was becoming less influential on the comic's creation by that point -- if he had not already been completely forced out -- which meant it was also the point where the Largo character was being written by the other author/artist, who had vastly different tastes in humour and writing style.* In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', Black Mage explains that anyone who sees his face will go insane. This happens to a random passer-by[[spoiler: which comes back to bite the Light Warriors much later]]. Later on, an as-of-yet unnamed Dark God tells Black Mage that hearing his true voice will cause a person's brain to eat itself.* ''Webcomic/{{Starslip}}'' has the sculpture known as "The Spine of the Cosmos". Looking at it by itself is harmless, but when its artistic context is described to the viewer, they are either granted ultimate understanding of the universe or driven insane -- either way, becoming a mindless zombie. The insectoid aliens known as Cirbozoids are the only intelligent species immune to this, due to their inability to understand art.** Also, Cirbozoids can kill people by crying.** The context involves Creator/{{Yeats}}' [[VaguenessIsComing poem]] [[http://starslip.com/2007/11/30/starslip-number-664/ The Second Coming]]** It is forever robbed of this ability, however, when its artistic context is irreparably changed by [[spoiler: Mr. Jinx wearing it as a hat]], and is thereafter described by at least one character as "the dumbest thing i've ever seen".* Librarian Dewey develops a book talk guaranteed to make people faint in ''Webcomic/{{Unshelved}}''!** That's just one of the talks he's got. He has, if memory serves, book talks that make people nauseous, break out in a rash, and speak Urdu, among what must be others.* In ''Webcomic/RPGWorld'', it's hinted that the four Mystic Keys are these. At least it was strongly hinted that reading the Tiger Book was what made Jeff go crazy and turn evil.* [[http://www.deadboydesigns.com/kreepy/strip%2035.htm Kreepy Kat]]* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', the BigBad Xykon kills a room full of Paladins armed only with a [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0448.html super-bouncy ball]]. (Which has a magic symbol that cause insanity in anyone who look at it inscribed on it.)** Vaarsuvius [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0092.html prepared Explosive Runes this morning.]]** In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0859.html #859]], Durkon casts ''Holy Word'', described under ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', on the Linear Guild, banishing Sabine and striking everyone else deaf. The only member to come out unscathed is Tarquin, whose hit dice are apparently higher than Durkon's caster level. The deafness also affected [[TokenEvilTeammate Belkar]], causing [[OhCrap an interesting result]] when Nale cast ''suggestion'' on him to get him to stop stabbing him. Roy, who came up with the whole plan, snarks:---> '''[[GeniusBruiser Roy:]]''' It's not a bug, it's a feature.* [[http://i33.tinypic.com/15zibf7.gif This comic]] from ''Webcomic/TheParkingLotIsFull'' describes such an occurrence.* Lampooned in one series of ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}'' strips, the EvilSorceress She Who Must Be Obeyed has obtained a written copy of That Which Man Is Not Meant to Know, and she is smart enough not to read it, because she realizes that this Trope must apply if no-one is meant to know it. However, after taking the heroes prisoner, [[spoiler:Piffany assures her that only ''men'' are not meant to know it; women can safely read it, because it's something that they know already. When she reads it, not revealing it to the readers, the fact that such a secret would be so devastating to men almost makes her bust a gut laughing.]]* From ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'':** A unique tone not reproducable by nature is generated by a device that can make Florence Ambrose, a genetically modified red wolf, fall asleep or wake up. Given [[AIIsACrapshoot previous negative experience with similarly modified simians]], having an "off" switch" on an experimental design is probably not all that bad idea, particularly when that "design" is a based on a predator.** Sam's real er... face, which he theorizes triggers some sort of nurturing instinct in humans, since any time someone sees it they immediately disgorge their stomach contents. This is a big part of why he wears a full-body environment suit with an animated mechanical face, beyond issues with lower partial pressure of Oxygen.*** At one point, Helix creates a sculpture of Sam. A person who sees it has to be physically restrained from removing his own eyes because otherwise he "might see it again!"** The [[MemeticMutation Sticky Notes of Doom]], which cause any robot who reads them while connected to the commnet to download an upgrade that lobotimizes them.[[note]]They simply mention the name of said "upgrade" among the author's thoughts, and any comnet search on the name causes an immediate download and install.[[/note]]--->Edge: "Who wrote this note, Creator/HPLovecraft?"* In ''[[http://www.jaydenandcrusader.com/2008/06/27/page-74/ Jayden and Crusader,]]'' the character Third can apparently utter proofs of the non-existence of God so powerful Priests have heart attacks because of the conflict of their profession and the utter logic of the proof. We aren't told what this proof is.* For [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud]] in ''Webcomic/AnsemRetort'', "OneWingedAngel" is this: it makes him flash back to to Sephiroth.-->'''Cloud:''' The bad man with the sword is taking over my mind again!** Unfortunately, that song is also Axel's ThemeMusicPowerUp.* ''Ubersoft'' employes were once shown only the shadow of a new Apple product, since it's beauty drove a small percentage of the population insane when they looked directly at it. When asking how big a percentage, the answer was approximately the same small percentage of the population that had been allowed to look at it directly.* ''Webcomic/NecessaryMonsters'': Jonathon tells the man on the safehouse front desk ''something'' that causes him to pull his own skull apart.* Rowasu of ''Webcomic/{{Juathuur}}'' makes his sword screech by draggin it on the ground to confuse his enemies.* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Feferi has to continually keep [[EldritchAbomination her lusus]] fed, or it'll cry out and ''every troll in the galaxy'' will die from the subsequent [[MindRape psychic shockwave]] known as the "VAST GLUB". Worse, since Feferi prototyped her lusus, the Black King of their session gained this ability as well, which necessitated an army of thousands of time-travelling Aradiabots to psychically suppress lest the King instantly win the battle.* In ''Webcomic/{{Poharex}}'', Eperok uses "The Call", a high-frequency sound(which he refers to as magic), to force any dinosaur that hears it to come and aid him in battle. He only used it once in order to distract Leay, allowing Poharex to get the upper hand.* Art in ''Webcomic/SequentialArt'', aspiring to the full MadArtist glory, "[[http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=665 created an image that combines all known fetishes]]".* ''Webcomic/AMiracleOfScience'' has the book "Crank Theories on Robotics", that is a known vector of ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder.* The Doom Bell of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' painfully knocks out all those who hear it for the first time.** Agatha on the other hand, only seems mildly surprised.---> '''Mama Gkikka:''' Keeds today. Kent even take a leedle '''existential despair'''.** Mama was surprised, though, that Gil found the sound "beautiful" as it meant Agatha was still alive and fighting. It's been implied, though, that Gil may be related to the Jagermonsters, which may account for his immunity.* Draconic, the LanguageOfMagic in ''[[Webcomic/NahastLandsOfStrife Nahast]]'', drives people mad if they don't learn it properly.* ''Webcomic/SeventySeas'' has "Jensen's Ye Olde Horror of the Deep", an EldritchAbomination in a bottle that causes pants-wetting terror on anyone looking at it.* ''Webcomic/{{Vexxarr}}'' has the Schlumpoid Sploorfix, whose Livejournal entries have caused AI to explode at how melancholy they are. Even his casual observations about life have caused otherwise rigidly-programmed ship drones to consider him a threat to the host vessel and left him unceremoniously dumped in a waste bin.* ''Webcomic/AxeCop'' has a band called The Axe. Their music kills bad guys because it's poisonous to them.* In ''Webcomic/BrunoTheBandit'' this was more or less the effect of [[http://www.brunothebandit.com/d/20080926.html Shub-Megawrath's singing]].* In "The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" arc of ''Webcomic/SkinHorse'' Nick was assigned to compile a sound-based weapon against biologicals. It knocks out the entire building, though the staff of Project Skin Horse, being either robots, undead, canine, or a former werewolf, recover before the rest. At one point [[http://skin-horse.com/comic/opened-the/ Tip calls it a Brown Note]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* ''Literature/{{Brennus}}'': The sotry arc ''Shrouded In Dread'' was all about the New Lenston heroes fightin a villain calling herself Hastur (she named herself after the literary character), whose power caused anyone who saw her face to go violently insane, undergo ''really'' nasty BodyHorror, and eventually die painfully. They manage to fight her anyway with some high-tech goggles, but not before she causes a ''lot'' of death and destruction. It was on of the darkest story lines in a story that's [[CrapsackWorld not exactly all that optimistic to begin with]].* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has enough of these to call them "cognitohazards" -- a syndrome or behavior that can be transmitted by means of sensorial information, such as pictures and sounds. It becomes a "memetic hazard" if the person affected can reproduce the Brown Note so that it spreads to other people, or an "infohazard" if it can be spread through a simple statement about it. Mind affecting Brown Notes can often be cured by the application of LaserGuidedAmnesia.** A "Langford-Berryman Memetic Kill Agent" triggers a fatal neurally-induced heart attack in any "un-innoculated" personnel trying to view the SCP-001 entry. [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-001 Try your luck here]].** [[http://scp-wiki.net/scp-224 SCP-224 ("Grandfather Clock")]]. When the clock chimes, anyone in range of the sound will undergo RapidAging.** [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-298 SCP-298]] is an OminousPipeOrgan that causes the blood of anyone who hears it to be expelled from their body and gain the consistency of cellulose, and paralyzes them to stop them from escaping. Believed to be entirely [[ThePowerOfRock sonic]] in nature, as people who can't hear it are not affected. Active noise cancellation technology, however, is only partially effective, so deafness may not be as effective as soundproofing. Also if the organ is used for parts, organs repaired with those parts may start to take on diluted forms of the originals' powers...** [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-332 SCP-332]] is a marching band that plays every 48 hours, or when someone gets too close. People hearing the band play will be overtaken by an intense desire to acquire an instrument and join the band, or pretend to play an instrument if they cannot find one, and play until they pass out from exhaustion and are subsequently trampled by the band members.** Perhaps the most dangerous is [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-370 SCP-370]]. The ''first'' victim had to actually look at the thing - that's all it takes - but it's ''so'' contagious that knowing too much about what it looks like or what happens to the infected is enough to become infected. Finding out what could and couldn't be safely known of it was something that happened ''[[KillEmAll the hard way]]'' to its discoverers. Some of those infected cannot help trying to give out information that will spread the effect and even secretly edit documents previously thought harmless, though of course precautions are taken against this.[[note]]≌⊙♆☣♉︎℥Ω[[/note]] Because of this, we are absolutely positively ''mostly'' sure reading the SCP writeup won't affect you, and therefore ''almost'' sure the words you're reading ''right now'' do not mean that YouAreAlreadyDead.** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-413 SCP-413 ("Endless Garage")]]. SCP-413 gives off a low-frequency sound inside itself that harms human navigation abilities, balance and short term memory. Prolonged exposure can cause nausea, dizziness, vomiting, vertigo, anxiety and claustrophobia. Luckily, the effect will wear off after the victim leaves SCP-413.** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-571 SCP-571 ("Self-Propagating Infectious Pattern")]]. Observing this pattern causes the unlucky victim to have a complusion to draw the aforementioned pattern, using any methods available, up to and including [[CouldntFindAPen their own blood.]] Once the victim copies it, they urge other people to look at their work, triggering the cycle again. The site that contains it is in an isolated location, since a population of a massive size becoming infected could cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. One of the worst parts about it is that the anomalous effect occurs in ''the pattern itself,'' not just the medium it's on, which means that [[ParanoiaFuel anyone can scribble down a random pattern of lines and get infected.]]** [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-628 SCP-628 ("Flute Copse")]]. A grove of hollow sycamore trees with their tops broken off, they can play music like an organ when the wind blows. Their music includes infrasound (AKA subsonics) that can cause disorientation and the emotions of fear, awe, sorrow and anxiety in those listening to it.** [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-632 SCP-632]] is a species of spider. The combination of the sight of them, the feel of them crawling on your skin and smelling the chemicals they emit will cause baby versions of the spiders ''[[BodyHorror to grow in your brain]]''.** [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-701 SCP-701]] is a play very reminiscent of ''Literature/TheKingInYellow''. There's a 37% chance that the audience watching/listening to the play will go insane and start violently rioting. In a small number of cases the insanity is permanent.** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1127 SCP-1127]] is a collection of short films that all permanently alter the minds of any who view them:*** ''Were Clowns Always Yellow?'', a film where a [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] MonsterClown rants at viewers for several minutes about humour, interspersed with him executing people. After watching the film, viewers will find disturbing things funny, and funny things disturbing. [[note]]For example, subjects will look at autopsy photos, graphic war footage and videos of public suicide as utterly hilarious, while one D-Class had to be physically restrained when shown an episode of ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus''.[[/note]]*** ''Crazy Where? You Are'', a film where a little girl slowly dismembers her teddy bear with a knife while ranting about how violence is the answer. It turns people into hyper-sociopaths who often engage in injuring others out of "curiosity", and usually have to be outright terminated after exposure because they pose too great a risk to others.*** ''All? Comes With Yesterday'', a film where a woman wearing a Victorian gown and a metallic mask which is [[FacialHorror stitched onto her face]] narrates over images of machinery and other artifacts, reciting random words and at one point [[MadnessMantra repeating the word "liar" over and over]]. Viewers develop an extreme phobia of pretty much anything man-made, especially technology, and have to be institutionalised.*** ''Why Are You Crying?'', a film where a leather-clad man narrates over pornography and sexual imagery. Any viewers lose all interest in pornography and develop obsessions with various creepy, harmful, and criminal paraphilias.** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1875 SCP-1875]] sends emails [[spoiler:and modifies incident reports]] with these. [[spoiler:Considering [[PoweredByAForsakenChild the]] [[AndIMustScream situation]], it's quite understandable]].** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2927 SCP-2927 ("Soundspots")]]. SCP-2927 is two tones generated at 75 dB at frequencies of 16.8 kHz and 27 Hz. Anyone who listens to them suffers from [[SupernaturalFearInducer dread and unease]], which get stronger the closer the person gets to the source of the sound. Anyone who approaches within two meters will permanently experience night terrors, insomnia and a [[SupernaturalFearInducer strong fear of prolonged noises]].* ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'':** [[http://www.orionsarm.com/xcms.php?r=oaeg-view-article&egart_uid=480ea52d4ae86 Neuro-fractal patterns]] can induce all sorts of reactions from calmness to nausea. In some places fractals that promote immune health are used to prevent populations from getting sick.** Thus providing (cold) comfort to fans of [[Creator/DavidLangford Langford]] and his ''basilisks''. In fact, ''Orion's Arm'' also features the [[http://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/480e9702f277a Medusa Fractal]]. [-A hypothetical mathematical figure which... sets up a feedback loop in the brain... sending them into a permanent catatonic state. It is also sometimes referred to as a "flatline fractal" or (after the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_set Julia set]] it is said to resemble) ''"[[BrainFood the brain-eating basilisk]]"''.-]* Episode three of ''Podcast/TheBlackTapes'' podcast is about the Unsound. It's supposed to be the sound of an Archdemon beckoning the listener to invite it into their world, and anyone who listens to it is supposed to die within a year. * From ''Website/TheOnion'': [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-study-too-frightening-to-release,619/ "New Study Too Frightening To Release"]]. A scientific study whose contents must be suppressed or the knowledge within would likely cause "the total breakdown of societal order, including the abandonment of the current political and economic system, rioting, looting, mass suicide and, quite possibly, global thermonuclear war." The head of the team investigating then killed himself, and many of the other researchers "cannot be accounted for".* In ''Star Harbor Nights'', a close-up look at the insanity causing molecule in Rhyme's blood at just the right angle causes viewers to scream until they pass out.* An EasterEgg in the ''SonicShorts'' collection volume 2 features an extremely terrifying version of the Tails Doll that allegedly causes grown men to scream like a little girl. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vDfmM0_8XE Watch at your risk!]]** And then, he comes back in the fifth one. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxHzTCUsblg Enjoy!]]* Parodied in ''WebVideo/CollegeSaga'', where singing a corny song was the only possibility to defeat the ''Chocolate Tree''.* In H-M Brown's ''{{WebOriginal/Shell}}'', using some type of filtration method like a peep hole or a television to see the EldritchAbomination, will still lead you to madness.* The CreepyPasta Smile.jpg, an image of a dog that causes the viewer to have bizarre nightmares.** In case you're wondering what it looks like and are resistant to the ShmuckBait, it's a picture of a husky with demonic eyes and a photoshopped grin on it's face. Said nightmares involve the dog telling you to spread the word, meaning that you have to send it to someone else in order to stop the nightmares.* The "full version" of the Creepypasta video "Mereana Mordegard Glesgorv" is said to drive the viewer to insanity.* The Choir from ''Franchise/TheFearMythos'' can distort sounds...and make them shatter glass, rupture eardrums, and ''hemorrhage people's brains''. Luckily, most of the time they seem content to simply [[DrivenToSuicide drive you to suicide]], but if you piss them off...* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' theme tune to WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic. He called the resulting brain tumor "Pork Chop".* Many of the eponymous creatures in [[Website/{{STRANGERS}} S T R A N G E R S]] have effects on people simply by being in their presence. For instance, contact with the gazedrene causes a spike in violence and aggresion around it, and those who live with the quiet simdroni will grow more and more antisocial until they loose their ability to communicate altogether.* Roko's basilisk - the idea of a superintelligent AI in the future that retroactively punishes those who knew of its existence and did nothing to help it come to fruition (''you'', dear Troper) - is a rather esoteric example originating on Blog/LessWrong. A RealLife example to some futurists and singularitarians, leading to it being banned from Less Wrong's forums. * [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos The Slender Man's]] presence causes AlienGeometries, an IncurableCoughOfDeath, LaserGuidedAmnesia, insanity, [[ProperlyParanoid paranoia]] and [[DrivenToSuicide death of the suicidal variety,]] assuming He (or one of his [[MoreThanMindControl proxies]]) doesn't kill you himself.* In the Literature/WhateleyUniverse, sonic weapons are common, but ones which cause serious injury (as opposed to disorientation or nausea) are illegal in most places because they aren't directional and cause too much collateral damage.** Jericho's wardrobe. In order to distract people from his teammates' inhuman appearances, he deliberately wears clothing so garish, mis-matched, and ugly that it can cause those who see him to be nauseated. He's even weaponized the effect: his 'undershirt of doom' once stopped two armed mercenaries in their tracks.* ''Podcast/TheMessage'': The titular Message is one. It's [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou included in the podcast]] before anyone figures it out, but it doesn't always take effect.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' Princess Monster Wife repeatedly inadvertently knocks Finn and Jake unconscious with her appearance, even when they use mirrors to avoid this. She also made a penguin puke, again inadvertently.* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Singing "Rock-A-Bye Baby" instantly puts Rufus to sleep.* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' has:** The Brown Note itself appears in the episode "World Wide Recorder Concert", here referred to as "the brown noise" and said to be "92 cents below the lowest octave of Eb", but shown as a low Eb on the treble clef in written music. Unusually, the note ''is'' heard: it's a low tuba note, which can be somehow produced with a simple recorder. By accident [[note]](the boys tried to get back at the New York kids for making fun of them by modifying their sheet music, but their revised version was intercepted by the concert coordinator, who thought Yoko Ono had revised the score again)[[/note]], the 4 million kids at the titular concert end up playing the note, which makes everyone in the world crap their pants.** "Now, as you all know, the Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka can supposedly kill you with one horrid gaze. If a person even so much as ''looks'' into the frog's eyes, they can be paralyzed, or even die."** ''The Tale of Scrotie [=McBoogerballs=]'', a [[ShowWithinAShow novel within the series]] made by the boys on an episode with the same title, is more of a ''Technicolor'' Note, as it causes everyone who reads it (with the possible exception of the boys themselves, who just laugh) to vomit from the {{Squick}}y parts ([[TakeOurWordForIt which we never hear]]). Even attempting to talk about them causes the same reaction, which is why we never actually hear them; any attempt at discussion is always cut off by vomiting. Apparently, nobody has gotten past the first paragraph without this reaction, and in a game show where you try to listen to the audio books as long as you can, one person threw up after ''2 seconds''. The twist of all this is that despite this reaction, it is agreed-upon in-universe to be an excellent work of literature.** Another, ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Lord of the Rings]]''-themed episode, has the porno ''Backdoor Sluts 9'', which inflicts MindRape on Token and Butters.** Ugly Bob, the ugliest man in Canada ([[InformedDeformity or so we are told]]). He's so ugly that he has to wear a paper bag over his head, and anyone who looks at him [[TakenForGranite turns to stone]]. In the episode "Royal Pudding" his ugliness is used to defeat the monster that stole the Canadian princess. * ''Mightyman and Yukk'' is one of the ThreeShorts of the late-70s ''ComicBook/PlasticMan'' cartoon. The titular Yukk is a dog whose face is so ugly that it is continually concealed by a doghouse; when he takes it off, whoever is looking at it would run away in terror, and it could even cause inanimate objects to break.* In the pilot episode of the [[{{Revival}} revival... episode]] of ''WesternAnimation/BikerMiceFromMars'', the BigBad throws his little evil brother against a wall, and the sound of his claws scratching makes their prisoners wince and cry.* Dethklok's music on ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'' has some unique effects, but they may be supernatural in origin. In "Dethkomedy", it's mentioned that the song "Go Into the Water" caused a million people to go into the water and drown (although Ofdensen successfully argued in court that it was their own fault, since the album that song was on was 'intended for fish only'). They summon tornadoes in "Bluesklok", a troll in "Dethtroll", and a large amount of fish in "The Metalocalypse Has Begun". All the while, they remain mostly oblivious to this ability, often acting just as surprised as everybody else at the results. Every time Skwisgaar starts to play a solo, PEOPLE START DYING! Duncan Hills Coffee anyone?* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', the supervillain [[spoiler:Ace of the Royal Flush Gang]] is a human Brown Note. Simply looking into her eyes, even through a television broadcast, can lead to delusions and eventual catatonia. If she really puts her mind to it, the result can last long after she's left or even become permanent. Eventually her power expands until [[spoiler:she is a full-blown RealityWarper]].** Considering also that Joker makes her face the camera so often, it is a wonder you are not seeing her eyes wherever you go... Yes, [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou you there on the other side of the screen.]]* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' ** One episode dealt with a magic flute that caused anyone who heard its song to fall into a permanent magical sleep. What was the cure for this curse? Harmony Smurf's trumpet playing, a racket that was so bad that it could "wake the dead".** Grandpa Smurf's foe Nemesis was a wizard who's face had become so hideously deformed in an accident that no-one could bear to look at him, either fainting or fleeing in horror if they did so. * ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'''s Oscar Gold, a inside-series film created by the villain Tearjerker (Roger, in a Bond style parody) so sad you will cry to death. It's about a Jewish, mentally retarded, alcoholic boy, in hiding from the Nazis (Anne Frank style), whose puppy has cancer... ''and then the pup dies and Oscar walks and jumps in joy while he drags the dead doggie body...''** There's also an even sadder film, consisting of several hours of a baby chimp trying to revive its dead mother, but fortunately it's never released.** As another ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' example, Steve Smith gets lost in the desert and meets God, who took the [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith form]] of Creator/AngelinaJolie. When Steve asks to see her boobs, she agrees, though warns him that staring into the rack of infinite wisdom has been known to drive men insane.** It's never stated, but it is implied, with the Golden Turd. While it does have a lot of monetary value, seeing as how it's solid gold and encrusted with valuable gems, it drives the people who find it to do some insane things to keep it or to prevent others from having it, implying that it does have a more drastic immediate effect on the finders. Let's see, the first man who finds it is with his friend, [[spoiler: and he quickly kills the friend because he doesn't like the idea of sharing the value. He regrets it immediately and kills himself]]. The next person who finds it is a long-time ethical cop [[spoiler: who takes it from a crime scene two weeks before retirement, putting his pension at risk]]. He immediately regrets it, but not before his wife finds out. [[spoiler: The cop decides to return it and his wife ACTS like she agrees, but then we see her put poison in his tea... The turd ends several episodes later powering up Roger´s UFO so he can escape the war on earth between heaven and hell forces after the apocalypse, but not before taking Stan and '''Jesus''' itself as passengers to the anti-Christ hideout...transforming it along the series from an ArtifactOfAttraction to a some sort of ChekhovsGag]]* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Grossology}}'' villain Lance Boil uses a brown note to make everyone crap their pants. [[spoiler:Heroes Ty and Abby wear a special device that make them immune to its effects. The downside is the devices make it look as though they are wearing diapers.]]* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' has quantum lichens, such as Langdon Cobb. Anybody who sees one, even in a photograph, would be drained of their lifeforce, which it would then collect for nourishment. Cobb becomes an actor because the adulation given to him as a celebrity is enough to substain him without draining anyone.* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' has ComicBook/BlueBeetle use a sonic gun with incapacitating effects; he and Batman argue about its side effects.* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', "Carnage in C Minor", features a race of aliens who can produce resonant tones which can cause a variety of effects, from healing to destroying stuff. When working in concert, several such aliens can create a harmonic effect that can be quite devastating, and the Decepticon Soundwave attempts to record this sound to use as a weapon.* In ''WesternAnimation/WorldOfQuest'', saying "witch" near Shrieks causes them to...well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin shriek]]. Because they have a long history with witches.(Which is entirely folk tales.) In one episode, Quest says they shouldn't use the W-word. Prince Nestor goes to the Shrieks and says a sentence ending in "...the W-word. You know, witch." causing the entire city to shriek. Then again, he's pretty stupid.* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': Patrick once wrote a song so horrible that a band died while recording it. [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick receive the record at their funeral, then when they play it from atop a radio tower, it causes the town to riot. [[IdiotBall (They assume it's their fan club.)]] Despite the InUniverse reactions, the song itself isn't so bad.** ''[[Literature/TheUglyBarnacle Once there was an ugly barnacle. He was so ugly that everyone died. The End.]]''** The fan-favorite ending of "Band Geeks" features ThePowerOfRock so awesome, it gives Squilliam Fancyson a heart attack.* Used in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' when Demona used a spell broadcast via TV to turn everybody who saw and heard the recitation into stone by night. Those who didn't catch the transmission as well as those who did but were deaf or blind and thus logically couldn't [[ExactWords both see]] ''[[ExactWords and]]'' [[ExactWords hear]] it were unaffected.* The first season of ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' has an episode where [[BigBad XANA]] distributes an [=MP3=] called "Glad to be Bad" through the Internet that sends listeners into a coma. It's so much this trope that when Yumi picks up a set of headphones playing the song indistinctly, she's completely thrown for a loop and just barely misses hitting a coma.* On one episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' Peter is warned not to watch [[Film/TheRing a video that kills anyone who watches it]]. He scoffs and takes the SchmuckBait, and promptly keels over. The film? ''Film/{{Mannequin}}''. [[TakeThat A certain amount of]] TruthInTelevision, to be sure....** On another episode Quagmire tells Peter a dirty joke with the punchline "P.S.: Your vagina's in the sink!", which Peter finds so funny he poops himself every time he hears it. So Quagmire and Joe keep telling him the punchline through various means (texting him, having [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] tell him it in a dream).-->'''Peter:''' Stop it, you guys, you're ruining all my clothes!* In the animated version of ''Series/FraggleRock'', Boober finds a scroll that holds "The Funniest Joke in the Universe", which is so funny that anyone who hears it will laugh forever, literally. While most of the main cast falls victim to the curse, Boober does not, because he does not "get" the joke, leaving him the only one able to lead the search for an enchanted spring that can cure them by erasing the joke from their memory. He succeeds in the end... And right in time, because then he finally does understand the joke. Fortunately for him, the spring is nearby.* In the ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' movie, Shake's horrific self-written song "Nude Love" forces the Insanoflex to kill itself upon hearing it.* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/FishHooks'', Bea attempts to make friends with Albert by playing the violin. [[DreadfulMusician Her playing is so bad]] Albert's face cracks and his organs fly out.* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'' episode "Stars In Their Eyes" established that certain sounds could disrupt 'Moonman' Koopa's technology. In order to save the Marios from being blown up by Koopa's spaceship, the quirks- an alien race Koopa enslaved- use their double-snouts to toot a kazoo-version of the Zelda theme.-->'''Koopa:''' You call that ''music?'' Stop that racket!** In the sequel series, ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3'', the episode "Do The Koopa" centers around the Doom Dancer Music Box, an artifact that, when cranked, causes everyone to start dancing ((including plants and statues). When Bully Koopa gets it, he attempts to use it on King Koopa, but since he has a cold, he can't hear well and is immune. At the end, Mario uses some plumber putty in his ears to get near Koopa and make him drop the music box.* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' has Krieger studying the phenomenon of the Brown Note. Mostly to weaponize it into a gun that makes people shit on command.* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', TheCorruption that turns Gems into monsters appears to have been some combination of weaponized light and sound.* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewMrPeabodyAndShermanShow'' has singer Enrico Caruso sing a note so powerful, it causes the Great San Fransisco Earthquake.* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': The HalloweenEpisode had Mr. Cat tell a story (not shown to the audience) that makes everyone except himself [[spoiler: and Stumpy]] vomit profusely.* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfSuperman'': In "The Toys of Doom", the Toyman uses a calliope that plays music capable of crumbling a skyscraper.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCollough_effect McCollough effect]] is a distortion of a viewer's ability to perceive tightly grouped horizontal and/or vertical lines, induced by around three minutes of exposure to a pair of innocuous "induction" images. Pursued for fifteen minutes, this induction can screw with a viewer's sight for up to three months.* Baby cries and cat meows, to some people, for the reason that humans (usually) feel pain and empathy at them, which is great if it's your baby that needs help or if you forgot to feed the cat and he/she is reminding you to do so. Not so great (and this trope) if it's the ScreamingPlaneBaby or if it's when you want sleep and the cat wants to be petted.** Interestingly, cats in the wild almost never meow (very young wild kittens do make a similar sound, but stop using it before adulthood), suggesting that domestic cats have ''learned'' to do it (or at least retain the habit from kittenhood) precisely because it attracts (usually) beneficial attention from humans.** The sound of fingernails dragged across a chalkboard contains very similar resonances to the sound of a baby wailing in extreme distress, which may explain why it's a wince-inducing BrownNote to nearly everyone.* The movie ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' seems to be getting a reputation for this. Several people walked out with motion sickness from watching it in 3D, [[http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html others suffered depression and suicidal thoughts,]] and one man even died, [[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583351,00.html apparently from over-excitement.]] [[note]][[MST3KMantra It's just a movie, you really should relax.]][[/note]]** Similar things happened a decade before with ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject.'' The movie's notorious ShakyCam footage caused quite a few cases of headaches and motion sickness amongst moviegoers. ** When the BBC revamped its [[http://youtu.be/gKOs6dqMkZw weather forecast]] from a 2D map of the UK bearing abstract symbols to a CG representation of the country which filled the screen, and which quickly and dizzyingly changed focus as the weatherperson moved around the country, many viewers complained that the sense of disembodiment this caused made them feel ill. It didn't help that rainfronts moving across the country were portrayed as fast-moving blue watery waves, which generated the illusion that a satellite was watching large tracts of land being covered by devastating tsunamis. People would anxiously ring up asking if we were all about to die. It is still oddly disconcerting even now, several years on.** Some people, particularly those with inner-ear problems, are susceptible to vertigo[[note]]Not to be confused with acrophobia (fear of heights), although it often is[[/note]] (AKA phantom motion sickness), and thus cannot play 3D first-person games, or watch POV roller-coaster footage, or the like, for very long because the confusion between their balance organs telling them that they're still and their eyes telling them that they're moving causes dizziness, nausea and disorientation.* Regarding Music/TheBeachBoys, one of the things that made Brian Wilson reluctant to finish ''"Smile"'' was a fear that he had created a Brown Note entirely by ''accident''. He and his musicians had recorded [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs._O%27Leary%27s_Cow_%28song%29 a very creepy instrumental called either]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roLanN0UW4Q "Fire" or "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow"]]; to get the atmosphere in the studio right, they had worn toy fireman's helmets and lit a firepot to emit smoke. The very night of the recording session, a building down the street caught fire and burned to the ground; someone later mentioned to Brian that an unusual number of fires were breaking out in Los Angeles [[HeatWave that summer]]. The coincidence struck Brian as extremely creepy, and he became hesitant about working on the album.** This prompted him to not release the album for 35 years and bury the original tracks in the vaults in a fit of panic, refusing to finish the album until 2004. Some other tracks of the original song were destroyed. Brian Wilson went into seclusion for decades, fearing that his hallucination-induced music would cause more fires. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roLanN0UW4Q Listen to it here]].* At its 1913 debut, ''[[Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring The Rite of Spring]]'' caused a near-riot in the audience, for reasons that even now remain unclear. For its [[TheEdwardianEra fairly restrained day]], the experience might simply have been too unsettling and evocative for the unprepared audience to handle. Even today, the sheer energy and unpredictability of the music makes it not for the faint of heart.* Creator/EmilyYoucis warns that WebAnimation/AlfredsPlayhouse may cause flashbacks. * "The Elephant's Foot", a formation of reactor core lava in Chernobyl[[note]]so-named because it is shaped like an EldritchAbomination, apparently.[[/note]] which was so radioactive, just ''looking at it'' [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WVh7sdingno/U7MHoKMen9I/AAAAAAAAJho/aeLrXJ46hKg/s1600/The+Elephant%27s+Foot+of+the+Chernobyl+disaster,+1986+%282%29.jpg would kill you on the spot]]. Like the classical Medusa, a heroic Russian physicist risked his life to [[ToHellAndBack journey into the bowels of the reactor]] to take pictures and find out what was going on down there; he had to use ''a mirror'' to take pictures of it from the adjoining hallway. Why did he "[[ButThouMust volunteer]]" to do this? Because (a) he was [[BadassGrandpa old enough not to worry]] about inevitably dying of cancer from background exposure (which he did later; [[HeroicSacrifice they all did]]) and (b) the robot they sent to take photos of the reactor core lava had its ''[[PhlebotinumOverload circuits fried due to radiation]]'', while a human could move quickly through the same hallway as long as he did not look into the open doorway itself.** A person able to actually see critical fissionable material up close will die a horrible death, although all they will see is a glimmer of (deadly) light, along with a weird buzzing. (The light ''itself'' is deadly, as it contains gamma rays.)*** Averted, remarkably enough, in the seminal "Tickling the Dragon's Tail" criticality accident that claimed the life of Los Alamos scientist [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Slotin Louis Slotin]]. Eight people were in the laboratory when the "Demon Core" did its thing, filling the room with a blue glow and blasting the observers with a heat wave. However, the other seven survived; only Slotin did not, because he performed a HeroicSacrifice to ensure the core was taken apart to reduce it to sub-critical mass. This way, only he died, whereas if he did nothing everyone would've died.*** Since video cameras have failed to show a blue flash during recent accidents despite being reported by the victims, some experts believe that the blue flash isn't in "the room", it's inside the victims' eyeballs, caused by the Cherenkov effect as fast electrons collide with water inside the eyes.* In the real world, infrasound--sounds employing frequencies ''below'' the range of human hearing--is reputed to cause anxiety and fear in those exposed to it, and at least in one case a hallucination. For example, see its use as a weapon of psychological warfare in the early Creator/RobertAHeinlein novel ''Literature/SixthColumn'' (also released in the 1970s under the name ''The Day After Tomorrow''). It may also be the explanation behind some "haunted" houses.** Back in the 1950s French Professor Vladimir Gavreau invented a [[http://davidszondy.com/future/war/infrasound.htm real infrasound weapon.]] (It's not clear whether he designed it ''as'' a weapon or just to explore the potential of infrasound effects.)** The musical artist [[http://www.lustmord.com/ Lustmord]] combines ambient noises (recorded in, for example, caves and slaughterhouses) with bass rumbles ''just'' this side of audible. Listening with headphones: not really recommended.** [[Film/{{Irreversible}} Gaspar Noé's]] notorious 2002 film [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290673/ Irréversible]] specifically includes lengthy portions of almost sub-audible 28hz frequencies on the soundtrack for the first half-hour, so as to cause people to walk out feeling inexplicably ill. The DVD sleeve proudly notes that there 200 walk-outs at the film's Cannes premiere alone. They were gone before the film got REALLY unpleasant.** Music/LouReed also claimed to use these frequencies on his album ''Metal Machine Music'', but he was probably full of shit.** There's been speculation that local infrasound resonance might be responsible for many places appearing to be "haunted." In a few experiments, soundwaves around 18 Hz were directed into people's eyes, as the human eye has a resonance frequency somewhere around 18 Hz. Most reported physical discomfort, and a few had mild visual hallucinations (flashing lights, [[color:green:green]] spots, etc). [[SchmuckBait Try it, it's fun]].** Given that our early hominid ancestors would've only experienced infrasound when something very, ''very'' big and dangerous (e.g. an elephant, hippo or rhino) was vocalizing nearby[[note]]or during an earthquake, which is dangerous in its own right[[/note]], it makes sense that we ''would'' find the associated tactile sensations unnerving.** The DroneOfDread article has more specific examples of songs which may contain infrasound.* Likewise, high frequency sound is usually considered to be highly annoying and painful to those who can hear it. Since the ability to hear higher frequencies fades as one gets older, a British engineer once created a [[ChildHater "teenager repellent"]]: a little thingamajig that creates a loud high frequency blast, which annoys and scares away anyone that can hear the sound, and that usually means anyone under 30 years. Of course if it works on anyone younger than 18, then parents of infants and toddlers should know better than to punish their tykes for voicing the extreme discomfort the noise inflicts upon them, but [[YouKnowWhatYouDid then again]], it doesn't stop them from blaming the kids anyway. In an ironic twist of fate, this "anti-teenager" weapon was reversed, and turned into an "anti-adult" weapon: a high frequency ringtone that allows teenagers to listen to their phones in the classroom, without the giving-away buzz of a vibrating phone, safe from the usually 40-something ears of their teachers.** This "teenager repellent" is in use in downtown D.C., at the Gallery Place metro station. There have been frequent congregations of teens at that metro station, and in an effort to curtain the fighting which often breaks out, they have installed [[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/31/AR2010083105777.html the mosquito]].** Sadly, while this idea was first presented as an "adult-proof" ringtone, any number of teenagers discovered, to their sorrow, that it really isn't. Some people in their 30s, 40s or even older can hear it just fine. While it is true that, in general, the older you get the harder it is to hear, there is no single point after which no one can hear it, and before which, everyone can. It depends on the degree of deterioration of that person's hearing. Since [[WhenIWasYourAge most modern youth]] listen to music at pretty high volumes, they'll soon stop hearing that ringtone.** For those who can hear it, it's very uncomfortable. It's high-pitched enough that you don't notice it unless you're listening for it or you're close to it, but after a while your ears and head start to hurt for no apparent reason. Some people even have feelings of dysphoria, nausea, and loss of focus. Classrooms full of high schoolers have turned people in for using it purely because it's damned irritating.** The problem with the teenager repellent is that babies are even more sensitive to it, and are unable to communicate the problem to their parents. On high settings, the "repellents" can cause excruciating pain and ''permanent hearing loss''.** Anyone who can hear their television set or those [[SicklyGreenGlow compact fluorescent bulbs]] can probably hear the "teen repellent".** A more humane alternative, used in some places, is to play classical music. The idea is that many teenagers hate this and will avoid the area, whereas those who don't hate it will be calmed by it.* In the late 1940s, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy were still not convinced that pure jet propulsion was the way to go. This led to a number of rather surreal aircraft that didn't work very well, but the king of these was the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_XF-84H XF-84H]], a turbo-prop version of the swept-wing F-84F Thunderstreak that was known to its pilots as the "Thunderscreech." The XF-84H more than lived up to its name: its propellors spun so fast that they generated sonic booms, deafening and injuring crewmen working on the plane. Loosened bowels were in fact reported by crewmen.** The still-operational main Russian strategic bomber aircraft, the Tupolev Tu-95 [[ReportingNames "Bear"]], similarly has propeller-blade tips that go supersonic (specifically Mach 1.08) at idle-running. The plane is '''so''' notoriously loud that not only is the anti-submarine patrol variant audible on the sonar of the boats it was built to track down, but Western fighter-pilots sent to intercept the Bear have been diagnosed with ''hearing loss'' traced directly to flying near the plane.** A sonic boom, such as that made by the prop-blade tips going supersonic, is not the same thing as a conventional sound-wave. Normal sound-waves are [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinusoidal_wave sinusoidal]], which means they are a fluctuation of air-pressure that resembles a sine-function. Shock-waves, on the other hand, when repeatedly generated in rapid succession, form a backwards version of a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawtooth_wave sawtooth]] wave. Those almost-vertical lines represent abrupt changes in air-pressure, and a propeller with supersonic blade-tips emits a spiral pattern of those shockwaves, some of which, in the case of the XF-84H, physically knocked people over, and even caused vomiting, and '''seizures'''. The Bear's engines have '''two''' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra-rotating_propellers contra-rotating propellers]] per engine, so their supersonic blade-tips generate a crisscrossing pair of spirals that form a series of overlapping sawtooth wave patterns, which explains why their propellers are even '''louder''' than the Thunderscreech's was. Contraprops increase the noise in multiple ways, and then, quadruple the Thunderscreech's engine-count.** Early jet engines had issues. Engine life was a problem because of the extreme heat of the jet exhaust and turbine engines were slow to respond to throttle commands - a turbine disc could only speed up so quickly in response to increased pressure from the combustion chamber. Rapid throttle changes - which can happen in a dogfight - were known to cause at least partial flameouts. At least in theory, a turboprop would combine the fuel efficiency and power of a turbine engine with the carefree throttle response of a propeller. The theory never worked out in practice, however. Jet engines continued to suffer these problems (mitigated by training in how to handle their throttles) until the development of full authority digital engine controls (FADEC) in the 1980s.* A 1991 [[http://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/14/weekinreview/headliners-all-in-the-voice.html news article]] reported that a woman suffered epileptic seizures upon hearing the voice of ''Entertainment Tonight'' host Mary Hart. This was worked into an episode of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', because it is [[RuleOfFunny funny]].* The ''Electric Soldier Porygon'' episode of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' featured the "digital" Pokémon, Porygon. The surreal nature of the episode resulted in a certain pattern of repetitive red and blue flashes which are known to cause epilepsy; 685 children were taken to hospitals after complaining of blurred vision, headaches, dizziness and nausea, and some of them even had seizures, blindness, convulsions and unconsciousness. Laws now are on the books that animators can't have flashes that fast, and the episode is the reason health warnings in video games and before the beginning of anime remind the viewer to watch in a well lit room and keep back; many of the cases were due to the kids being glued to the TV and the lights turned down low.** Some of these cases, especially the less-severe ones, may have been caused by mass hysteria after seeing a news report on the initial cases.** Spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', when they went to Japan and saw the show "Battling Seizure Robots", which had the expected result.** Also spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'', where Ling-Ling (himself a parody of Pikachu) proudly exclaims his motivation for participating in the show as thus: "I come to destroy all! And give children seizure!"** Also spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', in the episode "Chinpokomon," which spoofs the Pokemon fad. At one point, the boys are watching an episode of this show, and Kenny has a seizure.** The early copies of ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' (and, in Japan, Green) have the original Lavender Town music. While they didn't cause suicides like some legends say, they did play a rhythmic 8-bit beat at levels only children, some teens and adults, and animals can hear. [[YesButWhatDoesItDo Side effects]] include headaches, stuffy nose, stomach aches, and your dog getting gas. It is exaggerated in CreepyPasta where it causes seizures and insanity.* Proving that the [[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus Python]] boys really did know the lethal joke all along, in 1989 a Danish audiologist named Ole Bentzen [[DieLaughing died of laughter]] watching ''Film/AFishCalledWanda''. [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080412072030/http://www.canongate.net/Lists/Death/9PeopleWhoDiedLaughing The film made him laugh so hard that his heart lethally beat upwards up 500 beats a minute.]]** Similarly, in 1975 a U.K. man laughed so hard while watching the "Ecky Thump" episode of ''Series/TheGoodies'' that he suffered a lethal heart attack. His widow wrote the producers to thank them for making her husband's final moments so happy.** On the other hand, there is a record of a woman suffering a [[{{Gorn}} fatal heart attack while watching]] ''Film/ThePassionOfTheChrist.''* An urban legend has it that 70% of karaoke bar fights are caused by Music/FrankSinatra's ''My Way''.** In the Philippines, not only does ''My Way'' cause bar fights, but also deaths. The perpetrators are either singers who get booed after singing it, or bar patrons who didn't like the victim's rendition of the song.** There was a report of a guy dying of heart failure immediately after singing ''My Way'' in a karaoke-equipped pub in Singapore. Eerily enough, the tragedy happened on the exact same day as Sinatra's passing and the guy shared the same first name as Sinatra.** The fights were likely an example of [[EarWorm "My Way" being too popular that it was the only song being sung there]], and some people getting very tired of it.* Erik Satie's ''Vexations'' probably counts. The piece consists of a slow, simple theme that the composer insists should be repeated 840 times in a performance. It was first performed by a relay of 10 pianists, and took over 18 hours; reputedly, by the end the audience had dwindled to a handful of masochists. At the end, a sado-masochist shouted 'Encore!'** It was once attempted by a single pianist. He quit, suffering from dizziness, nausea and hallucinations. He stated, had he continued, he'd probably gone mad.* [[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16962788 This]] is a wonderful interview with a researcher in search of "The Ultimate Yawn" -- a yawn so contagious that nobody could resist yawning if they saw it. His results are fascinating.** Also reading about yawning. Stopped yet?** Yawning in general, really. Just seeing someone else yawn is enough for most people.** Yawning is not only contagious ''within'' species other than humans (i.e. between dogs), but even ''interspecially'', at least between species of higher (social) intelligence. It has at least been scientifically [[http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071365 proven]] to happen between humans and dogs. Anecdotally, people with other pets, like cats, will often have noted this too.* The infamous Blaster Beam musical instrument, most notably employed in ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' and by Japanese musician Kitaro, has been reportedly able to cause female audience members a... climactic degree of stimulation (at least, in live performances, lest female tropers rush to their nerdy friends to borrow a copy of ST:TMP).* Statistical mechanics is infamous for the number of famous suicides among the scientific founders. One text book has this as the opening paragraph.-->Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the same work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to study statistical mechanics. [[TomeOfEldritchLore Perhaps it will be wise to approach the subject cautiously]].** Similarly, several of the founders of modern metamathematics - Cantor and Godel being the two most notable - suffered from serious mental problems. This lead to the idea of the [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow "Black Theorem"]], a mathematical result that, once proven, drives the prover insane.*** Given as how the ''non''-insanity-causing theorems in that field include such gems as "there are as many rational fractions as there are counting numbers, but there are ''more'' numbers between 0 and 1 than there are rational fractions"[[note]]"counting numbers" here means positive integers, of which there are "countable infinity" (aleph_sub_null). (Note that the total number of integers is of course also aleph_sub_null, since 2* any infinity is still the same infinity.) Whereas numbers ''between'' integers are "uncountable infinity" (C, not to be confused with c, the speed of light) because you can always divide further to create new numbers.[[/note]] and "there are things in math that are true but unprovable, and it is possible to prove that individual instances of this are unprovable", the existence of the Black Theorem suddenly seems a lot more plausible.** Now in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw-zNRNcF90 BBC documentary form!]]** While we're on the subject of mathematics, there's a fairly mild brown note that tends to affect newer students. It's the simple fact that [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0.999 0.999... = 1.]]** The ''Murderous Maths'' book ''The Phantom X'' by British author Kjartan Poskitt had a rather... [[GoMadFromTheRevelation intimidating]] prospect near the end once it had taught the reader all the basics of mathematics. It came in the form of [[spoiler: a very complicated, yet reasonable formula which straight-up proved that any number is equal to zero. Cue collapse of time-space continuum...]][[note]]At least, that would be the case if it wasn't for the fact that the proof asks you to essentially divide zero at one point. In short? The proof is one final joke to test the reader.[[/note]]** George Cantor's studies of orders of infinity [[GoMadFromTheRevelation led to him being institutionalized]] in his later years.* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanganyika_laughter_epidemic Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic]]. Imagine something so unbelievably funny that you keel over, and half-crouch half-lie, sides heaving, tears forming in your eyes, and then suddenly it's not funny and you're fighting to breathe, but you can't inhale properly because you can't make yourself stop laughing. Now imagine that's contagious.* There is actually a weapon currently being tested by police which they refer to a "sonic cannon" that is designed to emit a long and powerful directional sonic burst at the exact resonance frequency of cranial fluid. Supposedly, it can knock a floor of an average office building unconscious after 10 seconds of exposure by mimicking the effects of a severe concussion without the accompanying impact trauma.** Here's its debute at the 2009 G20 summit in Pittsburgh [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV88Ndffr1c&feature=related here]].* For a brief time in 2008, there was a rumor going around on the Website/GameFAQS message boards (and possibly elsewhere) that watching a video entitled [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZfTBj-3HdU Mereana Mordegard Glesgorv]] would cause one to go insane, tear one's eyes out, and/or commit suicide. Most of the hype died down when it was discovered that the creepy guy in the video was actually a tech support worker from Florida.* During an Anonymous protest outside of Scientology's headquarters/armed compound in Hemet, California, Scientologists tried to drive the Anons away by using [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtzIIrMqn0s a loud organ tritone]], humorously dubbed the "Gold Note" after the base, in an apparent attempt at an actual Brown Note. It didn't stop the protest, and no changes of underwear were required. They even recorded it and used it against the Scientologists [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKwHkVrJdcI at a later protest.]]** Similarly, the Anons later found that playing a recording of Creator/LRonHubbard reciting the infamous Xenu story would cause any Scientologists who haven't reached [=OT3=] to back off and leave the area. This is because they have been told that anyone who hears it before they're spiritually ready will get sick and die.* In one of the behind-the-scenes featurettes for ''Film/{{Alien 3}}'' movies, it is mentioned that in one of the test screenings, groups of older people kept excusing themselves. Upon asking them about this, it was revealed that they were leaving to use the restroom, due to sudden urges. It turned out that apparently the composer for the score had used brown notes in the score, unknowingly. When they changed the score, the problem stopped.* The short story ''Guts'' from the larger book ''Literature/{{Haunted}}'' by Creator/ChuckPalahniuk has been known to have this effect in real life. According to Wiki/ThatOtherWiki, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haunted_(Palahniuk_novel)#.22Guts.22 more than sixty people have fainted]] while Palahniuk was doing readings. Palahniuk himself talks about it [[http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/palahniuk/haunted/html/haunted_aboutAuthor.html here]]. Note: he doesn't consider ''Guts'' to be worst, most horrifying, or darkest part of ''Haunted''. In fact, ''Guts'' is the first of a book of often horrifying and/or {{squick}}y short stories.* The bizarre angles of the [[https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Oregon_vortex Oregon Vortex]] will cause most people to lose their balance trying to cross it, or even become physically nauseated. In this case, it's the mind trying to correlate the ear's sense of gravity with the eye's [[AlienGeometries wildly different impressions]], until it just reboots.* A while back, several LetsPlay gamers left the community. Some of their fans claim this is because of the "curse of VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy", as most of them have played the NintendoHard indie game before their abandonment.* [[http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html Akiyoshi's illusion pages]]:** "Warning: ''This page contains some works of "anomalous motion illusion", which might make sensitive observers dizzy or sick. Should you feel dizzy, you had better '''leave this page immediately.'''''"*** One commenter asked, "Is this the Langford Fractal Basilisk department of ritsumei.ac.jp?"** The "koma" page has a link to "Escape from this page." It actually uses the word "Escape." And that's not a mistranslation.* The music of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_armonica glass armonica]] was said to cause both its players and listeners to go insane. Rumors of actual deaths -- including a baby who died in its mother's arms during a show in Germany -- didn't help matters any.** The likely initial source of the problem was the use of lead-based paints to color-code the glass bowls, and then the lead would leach into the water and be absorbed by the skin of the fingertips.* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucha_effect Bucha effect]] can induce epilepsy symptoms in people not normally prone to epilepsy.* Under the right conditions, parts 1, 2, 5, and 6 of Jliat's ''Still Life #5: 6 Types Of Silence'' would cause electrical fires in the sound system they were being played through. The album had to be packaged with a disclaimer.* The song Gloomy Sunday sung originally by the hungarian Rezső Seress in 1933, and later translated into several languages, is also known as "The Hungarian Suicide Song" for the large amount of suicides it was associated with. The original performer committed suicide in 1968.** There was a gig in Paris where all members of the orchestra faked suicide during a performance of the song.** The music itself, written in a minor key, can make listeners feel an uncontrollable pang of sadness. [[SnicketWarningLabel Listen to it at your peril;]] [[TemptingFate it may not necessarily cause suicide,]] [[SchmuckBait but it may ruin your good mood.]]** In some versions of the story "the authorities" banned the song for its allegedly triggering qualities.* The Flaming Lips have a album called Zaireeka. But, to make sure this WAS A EXPERIMENT, they put a warning on the front stating that on rare occasion, some of the songs contain high frequencies that could cause listeners to become disoriented.* At least one positive example exists... the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lung_flute Lung Flute]].* There's an urban legend about an arcade game called ''{{VideoGame/Polybius}}''. According to the legend, players would become addicted and would suffer several side effects, including stress, insomnia, nightmares, and suicidal tendencies. The legend also tells of men in black who would frequently visit the area the game was in. While there's no proof that Polybius ever really existed, some believe that the rumors originated from an early, defective version of a ''VideoGame/{{Tempest}}'' arcade game that caused problems with epilepsy and motion sickness.* ''[[Film/{{Twilight}} Breaking Dawn Part 1]]'' was reported to cause seizures due to flashing white lights in the [[http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/breaking-dawn-birth-scenes-seizure-inducing-effects/story?id=15029032 birth scene]].* In a 1999 lecture, Creator/DouglasAdams described how human industry in China was having this very effect on the blind dolphins of the Yangtze River, and how he and his camera crew on tour there ([[ItMakesSenseInContext after a frenzied search across Shanghai for condoms]]) dipped a microphone into the river to record how it sounds to the dolphins in there, who navigate using sound. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S2jsD7gy_E Adams attempted to emulate the ]][[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKscVC3tvwY sound for the benefit of the audience:]]-->'''Adams:''' ''"[[LoudnessWar PPFFFFFFPPPFFFPFFFFPPPPPPT]]. The Yangtze River, ladies and gentlemen."''** Described in more detail in ''Last Chance to See.'' Adams and Co expected to record a fairly straightforward series of propeller thrums, engine noise, etc. "Instead, what we got was a sustained blast of shrieking white noise in which nothing was distinguishable at all."* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats Binaural beats]] recordings, aka "audio drug": Recordings of specific tones supposed to create a powerful brainwave stimulation simulating the effects of recreational drugs. Thanks to a recent fad among teenagers, such audio sequences (colloquially known as "doses") can now be purchased at expensive price over the Internet.[[note]]Or you could just, you know, create it with any audio editing freeware.[[/note]]* An early security flaw in Google's "Glass" goggles could turn any QR code (a kind of complex barcode designed to be scanned by smartphones and the like) into a digital version of this trope. One of Glass' main features is the ability to take a snapshot of whatever the user is looking at. If the user happened to be looking at a QR code and took a picture, Glass would immediately process the code. Hackers created QR codes that could cause the goggles to connect to a malicious website, or connect to an unsecure wireless network that could spy on the user. The flaw has since been fixed by Google. * According to ''Website/{{Cracked}}'''s [[http://www.cracked.com/article_20678_5-bizarre-animal-chain-reactions-our-daily-lives-are-causing.html 5 Bizarre Animal Chain Reactions Our Daily Lives Are Causing]], humans' ships' sonar gives certain squid species fatal seizures.* There's a real-world condition called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misophonia misophonia]] that turns everyday random noises into this. Common noise triggers include things like chewing, coughing, sniffing, typing, or even certain words or accents. It's not just as simple as [[MostAnnoyingSound getting irritated,]] either - it triggers what is essentially a flight or fight response, so people who suffer from the condition can become extremely angry or even violent if they hear something that upsets them. It can also produce panic attacks, symptoms of anxiety, impulses to self-harm, and a strange symptom in which the sufferer re-imagines the trigger sound for ''months or years'' on end. Misophonics can also become extremely socially isolated by trying to avoid noise, as things like classes or lectures or family dinners can be absolutely agonizing.** People with [[UsefulNotes/HighFunctioningAutism autism]] are also prone to this due to heightened sensory input. Many autistics have a BerserkButton reaction to particular noises, such as [[HeliumSpeech very high]] or [[BassoProfundo very low]] pitched voices, NailsOnABlackboard, or RepetitiveAudioGlitch.* Weirdly, the ultimate form of this may actually be not any particular sound, but rather the [[QuieterThanSilence total absence of sound]]. A "quiet" room generally has ambient noise of 20-30 decibels. Specially constructed ''anechoic chambers'' like [[http://news.discovery.com/human/life/worlds-quietest-room-will-drive-you-crazy-in-30-minutes.htm this one]] can cut that to -9 decibels[[note]]The decibel can have negative values because it's a logarithmic scale[[/note]], well below the threshold of human hearing and quiet enough that people can hear their own ''organs working''. Apparently a total lack of noise is something of a Brown Note, as nobody has been able to stay inside longer than 45 minutes. That level of sensory deprivation associated with the chamber has reportedly [[GoMadFromTheIsolation caused disorientation and hallucinations]].* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hum THE HUM]] is heard by about 2% of the population, for whom it can be [[http://www.theguardian.com/education/2001/oct/18/medicalscience.healthandwellbeing incredibly debilitating]]. Since most people can't hear it, it was dismissed as a symptom of mass hysteria. Speculation among some hearers that it might be caused by alien spacecraft or secret government projects didn't help. As the internet allowed more hearers to report their experiences and a few researchers decided to take it seriously, it is [[http://mic.com/articles/91091/a-mysterious-sound-is-driving-people-insane-and-nobody-knows-what-s-causing-it now known to be real]] and has a variety of causes depending on location. If you hear it, you can register with [[http://www.thehum.info/ The World Hum Map and Database]].* Some {{Troll}}s have been known to link users on epilepsy support forums to pages containing flashing lights in an attempt to trigger seizures in users with photosensitive epilepsy.** Seriously, don't do this. It can get you arrested. * The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgellons Morgellons phenomena]] has been listed by some experts as a disease that is spread through the Internet. Essentially it's a form of delusional parasitosis[[note]]a delusional disorder in which victims believe they are infected by parasites, usually accompanied by hallucinated physical effects.[[/note]] in which alleged sufferers claim to be infested with strange, organic fibers. Upon medical examination, it's almost always revealed these fibers are synthetic and the sores they complain about are the result of compulsive scratching; the catch is the "disease" continues to get ''worse'' once a person has self-diagnosed themselves with "Morgellons", creating a cycle of a [[ViciousCycle continually worsening condition caused by delusions which are caused by the continuing worsening condition.]] The only way to prevent it is by avoiding social "contamination" of Morgellons, [[BrownNote which is to say be unaware of the concept in the first place.]]* Patent [[https://www.google.com/patents/US6506148 US 6506148 B2]] can manipulate the nervous system of a subject by pulsing images displayed on a nearby computer monitor or TV set in order to cause "excitation." ** Other examples of real-life Brown Note patents include...--->Patent 5,123,899 - Method and System for Altering Consciousness--->Patent 5,159,703 - Silent Subliminal Presentation System--->Patent 5,270,800 - Subliminal Message Generator--->Patent 5,507,291 - Method and an Associated Apparatus for Remotely Determining information as to Person's Emotional State--->Patent 5,935,054 - Magnetic excitation of Sensory Resonances--->Patent 6,017,302 - Subliminal Acoustic Manipulation of Nervous System--->Patent 6,051,594 - Methods and Formulations for Modulating the Human Sexual Response* Safety procedures for UsefulNotes/TheLondonUnderground include one for when a train has broken down and it is necessary to do an emergency shutdown of the traction current, when there is no switch (those are found only at the end of the track) or signalling wire (found only in tunnels) to help; it involves dropping a crowbar short device (which are [[CrazyPrepared carried by trains in case the need arises]]) across the conductor rails at each end of the train. This causes a bright flash with strong ultraviolet component, which can damage eyesight, so crew are warned to look away while doing it.* Creator/JohannWolfgangVonGoethe's book ''Literature/TheSorrowsOfYoungWerther'' is generally reputed to have raised suicide rates among European youth.* Music/TheBeachBoys song "Good Vibrations" features an electro-{{theremin}}. At one point it plays a note so high that it's outside the range of human hearing, but it drives animals NUTS.** Music/TheBeatles did something similar for ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand''.*** It's a piercing dog whistle and many humans can hear it, too: see the so-called "teen repellent", below.* Brian Wilson suppressed the song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roLanN0UW4Q Fire]] for allegedly causing fires; see "Real Life" below for details.* Music/TimMinchin's song "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UWtcSvtiQw F Sharp]]" features him singing that note (which is notoriously hard to keep up) while playing piano in F major (As he claims, at least - [[InsistentTerminology he's actually playing in the relative minor of D minor during the note]]). The combination of the two creates some definite unease and cringing.* The video for Music/KanyeWest's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAfFfqiYLp0 "All of the Lights"]] actually caused seizures in some epileptics, so a warning was put on the video and a version was posted with the seizure-causing parts removed. The beginning and end of the song feature brightly colored words flashing quickly, which can be kind of dizzying.* The Indian classical pieces of music known as "Raga" are supposed to produce strange effects when played in certain conditions. A story tells of the 16th century musician Tansen who, singing before the skeptical emperor Akbar, put himself (and the surrounding palace) in fire by merely singing the Raga "Deepak". His daughter came to the rescue by singing the rain raga called "Megh Malhar" to extinguish the flames. One researcher noted that the musicians still avoid performing the raga Deepak.* Kristin Hersh, main singer/songwriter of Music/ThrowingMuses, has often said that whenever she gets an idea for a song, if she doesn't immediately figure out how to play it, it can make her sick; some of her own songs have actually made her vomit. * During live performances, Music/MyBloodyValentine have the tendency to insert a section into their song "You Made Me Realise" [[FanNickname affectionately referred to as "the Holocaust"]], because it's a solid wall of noise that has been known to last for upwards of twenty minutes. Bearing in mind that MBV live are [[LoudnessWar one of the loudest bands on earth]], this has been reported to induce hallucinations in listeners.* Music/SunnO concerts have also been noted to induce similar effects for similar reasons as MBV: they are [[LoudnessWar ear-splittingly loud live]], and their music contains copious amounts of low frequencies. Concert goers have reported symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, light headedness, physical discomfort, trancelike states, and occasionally, fainting, even if they wear earplugs. Additionally, you should ''[[SchmuckBait never]]'' [[WatchItStoned listen to them while stoned]].* For people with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trypophobia Trypophobia]], looking at irregular patterns of irregularly shaped holes, which can cause discomfort, anxiety or even panic. While psychologists debate whether or not it's a real phobia, most agree that the patterns resemble sources of danger such as infected wounds or insect hives, and that our aversion to them is probably our instincts kicking in to get us away those things.[[/folder]]----